Dreams connected
by Madun
Summary: Ash and Dawn continue their respective journeys to fulfil their dreams. Focuses on Dawn's adventure in Hoenn at the beginning. Real Pearlshipping starting in chapter 20. Rated T to be safe.
1. Chapter 1

**This is my first fanfiction.**

**The beginning will focus on Dawn's journey. I will leave Ash's adventure in Unova to the anime.**

**Since the idea of ten-year-olds traveling through foreign countries alone while battling with powerful beasts along the way always seemed strange to me and the characters acted pretty mature for their age (at least most of them) I changed their ages in this story:**

**Ash: 16; Dawn: 14; May: 15; Brock: 19; Drew: 16 Misty: 16**

**Kenny: 15 Zoey: 15 Ursula: 15 Iris: 14 Cilan: 16 Paul: 16**

**Those should be the most important characters in this story. So basically a pokémon journey may start at age 14 here.**

**Disclaimer: I do not own Pokémon or its characters.**

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><p><span>Chapter 1: Arrival<span>

Dawn was making her final preparations . The ship would arrive in Slateport City soon and her new adventure could finally start. Everything was ready, she had her pokémon, her Hoenn contest pass and was full of determination to do better this time. She spent most of her time working on new moves with her pokémon so that they could pull off more different combinations.

With help from Mamoswine it wasn't difficult teaching each pokémon the move hidden power. She also tried to teach thunderbolt to Pachirisu but wasn't done yet. Quilava was close to perfecting flamethrower. One the other hand Buneary learned jump kick and Piplup learned drill peck during their battles against other trainers on the ship. As it was frequently used by trainers and coordinators, a big and solid training field was recently installed where they could battle. Since that could be pretty dangerous for the ship, it is protected by various pokémon and machines all the time. A shock for everyone there was Mamoswine's new earthquake move. It was a bit more powerful than they thought and the crew asked Dawn to make sure that he wouldn't use it again on the ship. She also met a nice trainer with a gardevoir who helped her Togekiss learning psychic.

When the city finally came in sight, Dawn let out a squeal of joy as she couldn't wait to finally enter a contest again.

_It will be strange to perform in my street clothes after wearing a dress every time,_ she thought and looked at her outfit. It was still the same as in Sinnoh, just with a bigger size since she has grown a bit and the skirt was getting too short.

Piplup was still lying on her bed fast asleep. The training was exhausting and even though he insisted on continuing Dawn knew that he had enough and would soon collapse if they didn't stop. While she admired his spirit she didn't want him to overwork himself again. But now it was time to leave the ship and enter Hoenn.

As Dawn took her bag she remembered the day she started her Sinnoh journey shaking her head in disbelief. It wasn't a bag but a big suitcase at that time, filled with various outfits not suitable for such a journey. How could she ever have ever thought of taking them? But all that didn't matter anymore. She carefully took Piplup into her arms, trying not to wake him and left her cabin.

Her mother told her that it's warmer in Hoenn than in Sinnoh and she was right. Dawn figured that her beanie and scarf were probably too much, took them off and stuffed them in her bag. Slateport City was big, so it wasn't too easy for someone like Dawn to find her way to the pokémon center and neither the many people crowding the streets nor the interesting shops on the way were making things any easier, but in the end (after going into the wrong direction several times) she was successful. It was already really dark when she got there.

When she entered she saw a familiar face.

"Hi nurse Joy! I'm Dawn. I'd like a room to stay in for the night," Dawn greeted the woman at the reception.

"Here you go. Please enjoy your stay in Slateport City," Nurse Joy said as she handed her a key.

"Thanks! Could you also heal my pokémon?" Dawn asked.

"Of course. Just leave them here and they will ready in the morning." Dawn gave her the Pokeballs and took only Piplup with her.

While Dawn was going to her room she realized that she should have asked about the next contest around here.

_Oh well, it's already late and I'm getting sleepy after that trip. And I would probably get lost like that anyway, _she thought and giggled. Then it hit her. She promised to call her mom when she arrived in Hoenn.

After she entered her room she placed Piplup on the bed and her bag next to it. Her mom was probably worrying about her.

_Geez, I'm not a little girl anymore, she should know that, _Dawn thought while making her way to the videophone.

After dialing the number, her mom's image appeared on the screen.

"Dawn, dear, I thought you'd never call. What took you so long?" Johanna asked with a worried look.

"Oh come on, mom. I have just arrived. You worry too much," Dawn answered rolling her eyes .

"How can I not, knowing you are out there all alone in some foreign region. Of course I worry about you. Especially considering your sense of direction." Her mother laughed, abandoning all seriousness for a moment.

"I'm not that bad, mom!" she said with puffed out cheeks. "I only got lost twice. And the city is pretty big too. Besides I'm not alone. I have my pokémon with me so there's no need to worry."

"Dawn, you know that when … ," Johanna started, but was interrupted by her daughter.

"I know, I know. Don't say it. But I can take care of myself. After all, I learned a lot from traveling with Ash and Brock," Dawn said waving her hand.

"Maybe you should find someone to travel with. That way I won't have to … ," her mother started again.

"I already said that I can take care of myself," Dawn reassured her mom. "You really should have a bit more faith in me, Mom. I've grown a lot. And I will prove that I can do this by myself and win the Hoenn Grand Festival!"

"That's the spirit. With that attitude you'll do great. Never forget that I'll be cheering for you and that you can always call me if you have trouble," Johanna said with a proud smile.

"Thanks mom." Dawn gave her a bright smile. "I will make you proud, I promise,"

"You already did, Dawn. So please take care," Johanna said again.

"I will! And I will call you again after my first contest here," Dawn told her with a big grin.

"Do you already know when and where it will take place?" The former coordinator couldn't wait to see her daughter in a contest again.

"To be honest I forgot to ask nurse Joy about that since I was so tired after that long trip." Dawn yawned after she said that. "Sorry, I slept pretty badly today. I was just too excited."

"No problem, dear." Her mother smirked. "Just make sure you get enough sleep this time or you might fall asleep during the contest."

"It's not that bad." Dawn giggled "Oh, and guess what? Buneary learned jump kick, Mamoswine learned earthquake and Piplup learned drill peck while battling on the ship. And wait until you see Togekiss' psychic move. A friendly trainer on the ship helped Togekiss with that."

"Congratulations. Now you must create some great combinations." Johanna knew that her daughter was creative so she didn't worry about that.

"I've always hoped, Piplup would learn that move ever since the first time I saw an Empoleon using it. You can be sure that I have something up my sleeve," Dawn said proudly.

"I can't wait to see it. But now you should really go to bed. You look like you could collapse any second now," her mother warned her.

"Alright, alright. See you, mom." She said with another yawn.

"Goodbye, dear." With a click the screen went blank.

Dawn would never admit it, but her mother was right. She could hardly keep her eyes open anymore so she stumbled to her room again.

While changing into her pyjamas she couldn't help but think about the next day. It was obvious that despite her sleepiness she was really excited.

_Tomorrow the real journey will start. I can't wait. All our hard work will soon be rewarded, I hope. What am I thinking? Of course it will! No need to worry. I just have to believe in myself and my pokémon. Still it feels strange to be without Ash and Brock. Ash was like a mentor to me and taught me so much and at the same time he was my best friend, comforting me when I was down and cheering for me when I was on the stage. But now I need to this without him. I have to prove everyone and myself that I am strong and can do things by myself! It won't be easy but I know I can do it._

Finally she was done and went to bed, but her mind couldn't calm done yet.

_It will be so different without Brock's cooking, that's for sure. I wonder how he's doing right now. Anyway I should learn how to cook properly._

_It probably won't be as exciting without Ash. You simply can't deny the fact, that wherever he goes something is about to happen. If it wasn't for him I would have never seen Dialga, Palkia, Arceus, Giratina and all the other legendary pokémon. _

_Ugh! Why am I always thinking about him? I hope we will see each other again soon but I have to go on without him right now. No more dwelling in the past!_

Her thoughts shifted to her rivals, her pokémon and the adventures she had. Somehow it was all connected to a certain black-haired boy, which annoyed her to no end. Furthermore she should sleep instead of keeping her mind busy like that. Eventually she relaxed and fell fast asleep.

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><p><strong>So that was the first chapter. As English is not my mother tongue please inform me if there are horrible mistakes or if something doesn't make any sense. After all this is also about improving my skills.<strong>


	2. Chapter 2

**Thanks Javanos for the review. I actually forgot the word 'forget', so it's pretty close. I corrected that in the meantime. The problem with proofreading is that I don't know anyone who could do that.**

**Here is another chapter with more action.**

**Disclaimer: I don't own Pokémon or its characters.  
><strong>

Chapter 2: The first contest

"Pip Pip LUUUUP!" Piplup cried while using Peck on Dawn who was still clinging to her pillow.

"Ouch! Please Piplup, just five more minutes," Dawn groaned but Piplup didn't stop.

"Stop it! Stop! I'm getting up alright." She surrendered to his unrelenting attacks and dragged herself out of bed. The sun was already shining brightly.

"I hope you're happy now," she told him, still half asleep. "It's your fault if I fall asleep during our training!"

"Piplup!" he chirped contently.

Dawn quickly went into the bathroom and prepared herself for the day. As usual, working on her hair took most of the time. When she was finally satisfied with the result, she went to nurse Joy, got back her pokémon and remembered what she forgot to do last evening.

"Uhm, do you happen to know if there's a contest coming up nearby?" she asked the nurse. "I'd like to compete."

"So you are a coordinator. You're in luck, there is a contest in this city tomorrow. The registration is in the contest hall." Nurse Joy grabbed a piece of paper and handed it to Dawn. "This is a map of the city. The contest hall is in the northwestern part. I will be one of the judges there. I hope to see a nice performance from you," she added with a smile.

"Wow, thank you so much. I won't disappoint you, no need to worry," Dawn replied. "Come on Piplup, I'll register for the contest and then we'll train for it. How does that sound to you?"

"Lup!" the penguin pokémon exclaimed happily.

After the registration for the contest they found a nice spot where the training could begin. It was a perfect day for that with the sun shining brightly and a cool breeze coming from the sea. Dawn called out all her pokémon. She turned to them after they materialized in front of her.

"Hey guys. We will continue practicing new moves today and enter our first contest in Hoenn tomorrow. So what do you think?" she asked them.

The pokémon cheered and she continued.

"Alright! Pachirisu and Buneary, please continue working on that thunderbolt. Mamoswine, you can practice your earthquake here. It should prove invaluable against all those pokémon using dig. Just make sure not to stand too close to the others or you might hurt them."

"Mamo!" he nodded and walked a bit further from the others.

"Quilava and Piplup, I'd like you to improve the moves you already know and improve your speed by dodging each others' attacks. But don't overdo it again, alright?" she asked with a worried glance.

"Lava!", "Piplup!" they cried in understanding.

They were always pretty excited when battling each other. Although their quarrels weren't as bad anymore, they still didn't give one inch when it came to their mistress' attention. Dawn went to her last pokémon.

"Togekiss, I want you to do the appeal and battles tomorrow. You up for this task?" she asked with a gentle smile.

"Kiss!" Togekiss nodded and cheered. She hasn't done an appeal with Dawn as her trainer yet.

"Great! Now what I have in mind…."

Dawn was happy with the results of the training. Pachirisu finally perfected Thunderbolt while Buneary made a lot of progress. With help from the elesquirrel pokémon she should be ready soon. The Earthquake move proved to be even more powerful than anticipated. But it is also dangerous as it could hurt or even knock out his partner pokémon in a double battle. Piplup and Quilava trained hard and got stronger and faster as a result. Togekiss' appeal worked fine so Dawn was confident that she would make it past the first round. After giving them an extra portion of their favourite poffins it was time to return to the pokémon center.

"You have all done great. Now please return and rest. You sure deserved it," Dawn said as she returned all of her pokémon except Piplup whom she took him into her arms."Time to go back. We will visit the museum and beach after the contest and maybe even do some shopping."

"Piplup Piplup!" the penguin pokémon chirped happily. He already looked forward to go to the beach to swim in the sea. A victory in the contest would make it even better.

During the walk Dawn thought about more moves her pokémon could learn. Her main motivation behind this was to increase the variety of appeals she could do since she didn't want to rely on ice appeals as much anymore. Besides it would also increase the number of possible new combinations in battle and make her pokémon more unpredictable. Because of her confidence sleeping wasn't a problem this night.

It was different when she was finally standing behind the curtain separating her from the crowd. She couldn't help but become a bit nervous when confronted with her first contest since the Grand Festival and to make things worse she was first one to do the appeal.

"I can do this. No need to worry," she said to herself as she heard Vivian announcing her performance.

"So let's begin. Our first coordinator is Dawn from Twinleaf Town!"

The curtain opened and Dawn stepped on the stage.

"Togekiss! Spotlight!" Dawn threw the pokeball high in the air. With a flash of light Togekiss appeared and flew around with elegance.

"Kiss! Toge!" The audience stared in awe at the rare jubilee pokémon.

"Togekiss! Safeguard!" Dawn commanded.

Togekiss crossed its wings, starting to glow in a green light and forming green energy balls at the ends of her wings. Then she spread them again and the energy balls merged, creating a beautiful green sphere surrounding Togekiss.

"Well, would you look at this! I've never seen such a shiny safeguard," Vivian shouted at the crowd.

"Alright, now the aura spheres and control them with psychic," Dawn ordered.

Togekiss used aura sphere many times and placed them with psychic so that they formed a helix. After that she flew right through it to one end.

"They're forming a helix? I wonder where this is going," the MC said.

"Use hidden power!" Dawn said, spreading her arms.

After that command, Togekiss flew right through the helix again, but this time she used hidden power while spinning. As the light blue orbs of the hidden power attacks crossed the still active safeguard they started to glow in different colours. They began surrounding the aura spheres like a moon surrounding its planet but with higher speed. Finally Togekiss landed on the ground and charged up two more aura spheres on the tips of her wings.

"Do it," Dawn shouted as Togekiss fired them up in the air, each of them making their way towards one end of the helix.

When they made contact, the hidden power orbs crashed into the aura spheres at the same time and started a chain reaction. Sphere after sphere exploded, creating a beautiful light show which ended with a big bang after the explosions met in the middle of the helix, creating an even flashier explosion. All this time Togekiss was flying around with grace, her white body shimmering in the beautiful light. The crowd and Vivian went wild.

"What a show! That timing was perfect!" Vivian shouted excitedly.

Eventually she landed in front of Dawn.

"Thank you, Togekiss, you were awesome!" They both bowed to the crowd.

Now it was the judges turn to rate the appeal.

"A beautiful show with powerful effects and still you managed to make your pokémon shine. Truly wonderful," Mr. Contesta, the first judge complimented her.

"And also remarkable!" Mr. Sukizo added.

"Togekiss looked so happy and enthusiastic during the whole appeal. It always warms my heart seeing such a close bond between trainers and pokémon," Nurse Joy finished.

Dawn and her pokémon bowed one more time and went backstage afterwards. She thanked Togekiss again, hugging her tightly.

"I think we did it. This ribbon is as good as mine! You did a great job, now we'll have to wait," she said as she returned Togekiss with a big smile.

The other appeals went by quickly. Although some of them were quite good there was nothing extraordinary so she was quite confident that she made it to the second round. Still she was relieved when she found out that she really made it.

During the battle rounds her first impression of the other participants was confirmed: Most of them were still pretty inexperienced so it was no big deal for her to make it to the finals. However, there was one pokémon that caught her eye.

When one of the trainers sent out a Shedinja against his opponent's Machop, she searched for it on her pokédex.

"Shedinja, the shed pokémon. A discarded bug shell that came to life. Peering into the crack on its back is said to steal one's spirit."

But it was its ability that intrigued her. The Machop's trainer didn't seem to know it either as he commanded his pokémon to use foresight and panicked when its moves didn't cause any damage at all. He was lucky that the Shedinja's trainer only called standard attacks which weren't very strong or beautiful. Still it seemed hopeless until he called fire punch and Shedinja suddenly went down in one hit.

Later she discovered the cause for this: wonder guard. Dawn has never heard of this ability before and come to think of it, she doesn't know a lot about the different pokémon abilities. And Brock told her about the few she knew like blaze, rock head and motor drive. She didn't even know her own pokémons' abilities! Her knowledge about different moves and their secondary effects wasn't very good either.

'_How the hell did I even get to the Grand Festival with that little knowledge? Oh right, because of Ash and Brock,' _she shook her head. _'But now I have to do without them and learn by myself. Maybe I should buy some books Thinking about it right now isn't going to help me though. First the contest, then the books!'_

Finally it was her togekiss against a combusken in the finals.

"Combusken! Use flamethrower," her opponent commanded.

"Dodge it and use sky attack," she told her partner.

Togekiss easily evaded the streams of fire aimed at her while charging her sky attack at the same time. Her wonderful elegance made this even more spectacular. When it was ready she went straight for the combusken who hardly managed to dodge it.

"Quick, use sky uppercut," the opponent said.

"Stop it with psychic and send it back," Dawn quickly commanded.

Combusken stopped right before it could reach Togekiss, being surrounded by a blue aura and was smashed into the ground with overwhelming force.

"Now an air slash!" Dawn pointed at the pokémon lying on the ground.

The attack hit the young fowl pokémon before it could get up, dealing massive damage. Everyone could see that Combusken was nearly done for after getting hit by two super-effective moves like that. Dawn was slightly disappointed that the finals were so one-sided but she wouldn't make herself look weaker than she is just to make the match more exciting. So she decided to end it quickly.

"Finish it with another air slash," Dawn ordered.

"Dodge it!" Combusken's trainer cried in desperation and his pokémon tried but it was too late. Even though this air slash didn't hit it as hard as the former one it was still enough to knock it out. Dawn looked at the display which showed that she also had more points left.

"Combusken is unable to battle, so the victory goes to Dawn from Twinleaf Town! Congratulations!" Vivian announced.

Dawn expected this win but she was still relieved that her journey started that well. She went to Togekiss who landed gracefully next to her and gave her a big hug.

"We did it! We really did it!" she said as Togekiss wrapped her wings around the young blunette.

The crowd cheered as Mr. Contesta handed her the Slateport Ribbon.

"Congratulations, Dawn! You showed us that you are excellent in both appeals and battles. As a symbol of your victory I present you the Slateport Ribbon." He shook her hand and she made a victory pose.

"Yes! I just won my first ribbon in Hoenn. There IS no need to worry!" she exclaimed with a bright smile.

"Toge kiss!" her pokémon shouted happily while bowing.

"And so the Slateport City contest comes to an end! We hope to see you next time in another exciting contest!" the MC shouted at the crowd.

Soon she was outside the contest hall and let out all of her pokémon.

"Alright, it's time to relax and play at the beach, isn't it?" Dawn said with a grin to which the pokémon replied with cheers.

She giggled at their reaction.

"Everyone worked hard so this is your reward. I'm just going to call Mom as promised, then we're off." She recalled all her pokémon except Piplup and made her way to the pokémon center.


	3. Chapter 3

**Thx everyone for the reviews. I'll try submit one chapter every week from now on.**

**This the first chapter to feature a pokémon capture. But of course Dawn will not be the only one to get new pokémon. In the next chapter she will meet an old friend again.**

**Disclaimer: I don't own Pokémon or its characters.**

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><p><span>Chapter 3: Eevee Trouble<span>

During the talk with her mother about the contest Dawn also told her about her thoughts on the abilities. Johanna laughed and reminded her of a pokétch app she got right before going to Hoenn. Of course Dawn didn't know which one she meant since she has installed quite a few of them at that time. As a result she forgot what most of them were used for. This specific one checked a pokémon's ability, gender, moves, status and Hidden Power type. Dawn decided to give it a try later.

After spending the afternoon relaxing and playing with her pokémon at the beach Dawn and her pokémon were hungry so she decided to take them to a place called 'Jeff's Pokéfood Paradise'. It was supposed to serve the best pokémon food in the whole city. But when she got there something unexpected happened.

The door to the place burst open and several eevee rushed out followed by an angry man who looked like a chef.

"Come back here, you goddamn beasts!" he shouted while waving his frying pan. "Don't you ever return or I'll have to deal with you in other ways!"

"Uhm excuse me?" Dawn asked sheepishly.

"What?" he retorted aggressively which caused her to wince. "Oh I'm sorry. It's just that those eevee are ruining me. They have come nearly every day for two weeks stealing some food every damn time. I guess that's what you get for making the best pokémon food in the whole city," he said with a hint of pride and frustration at the same time.

"So you're the owner of this place?" she asked still a little afraid.

"Oh I'm sorry, where are my manners?" he said scratching the back of his head embarrassedly. "You can call me Jeff and this is my shop, Jeff's Pokéfood Paradise."

"I'm Dawn. Can I help you somehow with your problem?" Now she felt like she was with Ash again. They would always meet people who needed their help.

" Dawn? That sounds familiar. Wait, I remember you now. You won the contest today, didn't you? Then you might be able to do this," he said with hope in his voice.

"Huh? What are talking about?" she asked a bit confused.

"Isn't it obvious? You have to catch those eevee. Then they won't bother me any longer and you get two new pokémon. What do you think? Do you want to try it?" he asked her with pleading eyes.

"Well, I would try but I don't have any spare pokéballs with me right now," Dawn said a bit unsure.

"Don't worry about that. I used to be a trainer before I opened this shop. There should more than enough empty pokéballs left," he said as they both went into his shop. "Follow me."

They entered a smaller room with several cupboards and chests.

"They should be here somewhere," he mumbled while searching one of the chests. "Ah, there they are. Seeing all those old things brings back memories. But never mind. Here you go," he said as he handed Dawn five old pokéballs. "They're pretty old but they should still work. At least I hope so."

"Thank you, but I have a question," she told him and scratched her head. "Why me? There are certainly many people who would do this for you."

"You might think so but it isn't that easy. Many have already tried and failed. Those eevee are not only evasive but also strong. They managed to knock out many pokémon who got in their way. But if your other pokémon are as strong as your togekiss I'm sure you will succeed. But please be careful anyway," Jeff said with a worried look.

"No need to worry, I'm always careful," Dawn reassured him with a smile.

"Luup," her pokémon chirped and crossed his arms as if to say 'Riiiiiight' in a sarcastic manner.

"You're the one to talk, Mr. 'I get in Pilloswine's way even after getting knocked out several times'," she replied with a smirk. Before Piplup could answer, she asked Jeff more about the eevee.

"So how many of them are there? Do you know any moves they use?" Dawn inquired.

Her partner's stomach suddenly growled.

"Piplup," her partner mumbled but she didn't react.

"That's the problem. They're using double team ever time so we don't know how many of them there actually are. Judging from the amount of food they steal there should be around two to four. They also sometimes used dig to escape. That's pretty much everything I know about them," he said and sighed.

"Piplup," the penguin pokémon said a little louder.

"So you don't know where they go after getting the food?" Dawn asked.

"It would be so much easier if I did. So I guess you have to wait for them to come here. Preparing a trap would probably be a good idea," Jeff suggested.

"PIPLUUUP!" The sudden cry made them both flinch. Piplup just pointed at his belly which reminded Dawn of her original intention.

"Oh I'm so sorry, Piplup. You and others must be starving," she said with an apologetic look.

A sudden growl from her own stomach made her even more embarrassed.

"I guess I'm pretty hungry too. You don't happen to sell food for humans?" she asked Jeff.

"Sorry, pokémon food only. But there is a very nice restaurant right next to my shop you can go to." He rubbed his stomach. "It's one of the best restaurants in the whole region, I dare say. The owner is a good friend of mine."

"Thanks for the hint. Do you think we could continue talking about the Eevee after supper?" she asked him with a pleading look.

"Sure thing," he answered with a laugh.

It soon became clear that Jeff didn't exaggerate when he said that he made the best pokémon food in the whole city. The look in her pokémons' eyes said it all.

After getting something to ear for herself it was time for Dawn to make a plan how to catch those eevee.

The next day started normally. She got up, prepared herself for the day and had breakfast with her pokémon. After some serious training they had lunch and then it was time to prepare the trap.

Her smaller pokémon hid in places around the shop, while Togekiss was watching the area from the roof.

She was the first to notice several eevee approaching the shop. When they got in, they produced copies of themselves, creating a lot of confusion that way. Of course Dawn knew that most of them were fake but it was hard to find out which one was real. Then she remembered the advice about observation Bertha of the Sinnoh Elite Four gave her and slapped her forehead when she found out how simple it was.

She knew why the eevee were suddenly rushing out and followed them. As the eevee spread out, her pokémon came out of their hiding spots to attack them, but only destroying copies in the process.

"Ignore them! Attack those with food in their mouths," she shouted.

Soon they spotted the only two eevee carrying food and attacked them with a barrage of hidden power orbs. However, the eevee managed to dodge every single one of those until an air slash from Togekiss, who was flying directly above them hit one of the evolution pokémon. Still it continued running which impressed Dawn and her pokémon. No wonder they escaped every trainer until now!

The air slash did slow it down though so it was only a matter of time until it was hit by an aura sphere and fainted. The other one dropped the food immediately. Instead of running away it stood in front of its partner protectively, baring its teeth. It used double team, creating a distraction while it attempted to dig an escape route.

But Dawn just called out Mamoswine, ordering him to use a weak earthquake.

"Don't even think of going into that hole. One real earthquake and you're down." She stated as Mamoswine stomped on the ground in a threatening manner.

The eevee knew she was right and saw no other choice but to fight. It rushed to Mamoswine, hitting him with a powerful iron tail which pushed him back a little.

"Mamoswine! Use take down!" Dawn ordered her pokémon. He started rushing at the eevee who countered with another iron tail.

It was clear that eevee couldn't stand up to the raw strength of Mamoswine but it fought bravely nevertheless. After getting up several times it was finally knocked out by an ice shard.

"Alright, let's get them," Dawn exclaimed as she threw two pokéballs at the pokémon. After a tense silence the red lights on the balls disappeared, indicating that the pokémon were caught.

Dawn took them both and shouted: "Yes! I just caught two eevee." She did a victory pose while their pokémon cheered, excited about the new friends they were about to make.

Some clapping pulled her out of the trance and when she turned around she saw Jeff rushing at her with a smile that could make a gyarados' heart melt.

"You did it! I've seen everything. Thank you! Thank you so much! Now I won't have to close down my shop." He nearly crushed her with his hug.

"Can't…..breathe…," Dawn managed to say before he released her. She took some deep breaths as her pokémon surrounded her with worried looks.

"Oh my, I'm sorry. Please accept some free pokémon food and berries. It's the least I can do. And keep the rest of the pokéballs. I don't need them." He began pushing her towards her shop.

"You don't have to do this. I am happy to help," she tried to reassure him but he was adamant.

When she saw how excited Mamoswine got, she decided to accept his offer. After all it was hard to get enough food for him.

Suddenly the two pokéballs with the eevee disappeared with a red light. Jeff looked at Dawn questioningly but she just waved it off.

"No need to worry. I already had six pokémon with me so those two were probably transported to professor Rowan's lab. I can get them later at the pokémon center." Jeff understood and pointed at the restaurant next to his shop.

"My friend promised me that if you succeeded you would get a free dinner. You did a great favor for him as well," he added with a big smile.

"Wow, thank you so much." The prospect of having some high class food again made her mouth water.

Then she remembered something, laughing as a result.

"What are you laughing about?" he asked with a puzzled expression.

"Oh I just remembered my former traveling partner. If he was still with me, your friend would have soon regretted that offer," she said while giggling. "He sometimes would even put a munchlax to shame."

_Oh yes, he is the messiest eater I have ever seen. But he's also kind of cute when he's eating,_ she thought with a dreamy look that was replaced by a shocked expression when she realized what just happened. _'No! I didn't just think __**that**__! I don't like him more than as a friend! Or do I? _

_Well, he's brave, selfless, talented and just plain awesome. He always made me feel special when I was around him. I felt safe around him despite the fact that he was a magnet for trouble. And he restored my self-confidence after every loss. Don't forget that he's quite handsome as well. _A small blush appeared on her face when she thought that. _Who wouldn't like someone like that? Ok, so I might have a small crush on him. _

_But what about his feelings? He did so much for me without getting a lot from me. He must think I'm a selfish brat. Besides he has so many great friends like May or that Misty girl. Why would he ever choose me over them? No, I mustn't think like that. I have to find out. Knowing him, he probably already left for his next adventure._ She watched as Jeff gave each of her pokémon some food

She continued pondering how she could contact him.

_Maybe he will give me a call on my birthday. Or maybe not. He is too preoccupied with pokémon and food to remember things like that. Besides he can't know when it is since I've never told him. Should I just call his mother? She might know where he is right now. But he would probably think I'm too pushy and clingy if I just called him without any apparent reason. Because it's not like I can just call him and ask if he wants to be my boyfriend. The embarrassment would kill me. _Thinking of that made her blush even more.

Suddenly she realized that all of her pokémon were looking at her with worried faces.

_Oh dear, I wonder how I looked while spacing out like that. Hell, even Mamoswine stopped eating. They expect me to say something._ So she said the first thing that came to her mind.

"No need to worry!" The words slipped out before she realized it.

_Great, _she thought. _Now they really will worry._

"It's nothing. I...I was just lost in thoughts. I'm fine, really," she stammered, waving her hands in front of her face.

Reluctantly the pokémon resumed eating their food. Dawn felt that they didn't believe her. However, it seemed that they decided not to push it, which she was grateful for.

_I guess I shouldn't think about this right now. After all I have four more ribbons to win. Until we meet again I want to be a top coordinator he can be proud of._

The rest of the afternoon went smoothly and after saying goodbye to Jeff and having her meal at the restaurant, Dawn returned to the pokémon center where she learned that the next contest nearby would be held at Mauville City.


	4. Chapter 4

**This chapter kind of focuses on her new Pokémon. You will learn even more about them in later chapters. Also more meetings with friends and rivals will take place in the next chapters.**

**I feel a bit strange about his one.  
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**Disclaimer: I don't own Pokémon or its characters.**

* * *

><p><span>Chapter 4: Old Friends<span>

"Pachirisu, Quilava, come on out," Dawn said.

"Qui!", "Chi pa!" the pokemon exclaimed wondering what their trainer wanted from them.

"Listen, please don't be upset but I will send you to professor Rowan's laboratory until I finish the Mauville contest."

The pokémon let their heads hang low but Dawn consoled them, while Piplup patted their backs.

"Don't worry. You're as important as ever but I can't have more than six Pokemon with me at a time and the eevee need some practice. So from now on I will rotate my pokémon and you can be sure I won't forget anyone," she said with a reassuring smile.

This lifted their spirits a bit and they were sent to professor Rowan in exchange for the eevee but not without promising to work on some new moves. After all she didn't want them to get out of shape and neither did they.

It was another warm day but you could see dark clouds coming from the sea.

When the pokéballs arrived, she took them with her to Route 110 and released the eevee along with her other pokémon. They looked at each other curiously.

"Everyone, I want you to welcome our newest friends. "

The first one to make a move was Buneary who walked over to the eevee and started a conversation. Soon the others followed. Dawn just watched the scene with a content smile. She loved seeing pokémon getting along like that. After a while she went over to her newest partners, kneeled down and introduced herself.

"I'm Dawn and I'm a coordinator. Do you know what contests are?" she asked them and they shook their heads.

"They're tournaments where both a pokémon's power and beauty are tested. I will explain the details later but I'm sure you'll love it. Oh right, let me check something first."

So she took her pokétch and activated a certain app on the eevee that fought her in Slateport City.

"Alright, it says that your ability is anticipation, you're female and your moves are double team, dig, wish, iron tail, baton pass and shadow ball. It also states that your hidden power type is ground. That's quite impressive," she said and petted the eevee's head. Then she turned her attention to the other one who seemed to be almost frightened for some reason.

"What's wrong? You don't have to be afraid. You have the anticipation ability, are male and you know the moves double team, dig, wish, bite and quick attack. Your hidden power type seems to be fire. You can also be proud of yourself."

He seemed to be surprised at her reaction, almost as if he didn't really believe her. Dawn saw that and petted him to calm him down a bit.

"I mean it. I'm sure you will be great," she reassured him.

_Something must have happened in the past. We'll have to talk about this later_, Dawn thought as she stood up. "Now it's time for some training."

She gave every pokémon a task and collected their data while they were doing it. It turned out that Piplup's ability was torrrent while Togekiss' was serene grace but they both had a rock type hidden power. Buneary had the run away ability along with a psychic hidden power move. Mamoswine's hidden power on the other hand had a water typing and his ability was snow cloak. Then she turned her attention back to her newest pokémon and was surprised by the progress the eevee made, especially the first one. It seemed like she had already perfected hidden power.

„Alright. Once more to be sure," Dawn commanded her pokémon.

"Vee!" she shouted and used hidden power, smashing several big rocks with the move.

"I'm impressed, you're such a quick learner." She turned to the other eevee.

"You're great too. I never expected you to be this fast. I think…," Dawn started but was interrupted by a Pokemon with a blue body and green leaves. Buneary accidentally hit a few leaves sticking out from the ground with a thunderbolt which turned out as the leaves on the head of this pokémon. Needless to say, it was pretty upset and used sleep powder to put Buneary to sleep.

Dawn recalled Buneary and checked the wild pokémon in her pokédex.

"Oddish, the weed pokemon. It often plants its root feet in the ground during the day and sows seeds as it walks about at night."

"Hm, a grass type," she mumbled and made a decision.

"Quilava, it's your turn."

She waited for an answer but since Quilava wasn't with her right now it never came. When Dawn realized her mistake she facepalmed and waved it off with a laugh.

"Oh, hahaha. My bad. I still have to get used to having more than 6 pokémon."

Her eyes widened when she saw a spray of acid going her way but managed to dodge it. Now she was really mad.

"Are you crazy? Do you have the slightest idea what you could have done to my hair and face? I'll get you for this!" she screamed.

Oddish didn't seem to be impressed though as it fired an energy ball at the male eevee. The other one jumped in front of him though and reflected the energy ball with an iron tail.

"Alright, it's your turn, Eevee," she said as she pointed at the female one. "We're going to catch that pokémon. Are you ready?"

"Eevee!" She nodded and rushed to the oddish.

"Use iron tail," Dawn commanded.

As a response, the weed pokémon released orange powder from its leaves in an attempt to paralyze Eevee.

"Evade it by using dig!" Eevee dug a hole while the Stun Spore attack flew over it. Shortly after she reappeared right in front of the grass type.

"Now is your chance. Iron tail," Dawn shouted.

Eevee obeyed and sent the oddish flying with a powerful strike.

"Now show it your hidden power." The other eevee watched all of this with an admiring look.

Several blue orbs appeared in front of Eevee who sent them right at the weed pokémon. As it was still recovering from the iron tail it couldn't dodge and was hit hard.

"Alright, go pokéball!" Dawn said as she threw the pokéball at Oddish and hoped that it would be enough to capture it.

The button at the front glowed red for a while but the light disappeared eventually indicating that Oddish was successfully captured.

Dawn quickly ran to the pokéball and cried out.

"I just captured an oddish. My first grass type!"

Just as the ball disappeared in a red light, she heard something.

"Nice one, Dee Dee." Dawn immediately froze. That voice and that choice of words were all too familiar. Slowly she turned her head to see him standing there with a big grin on his face.

"Kenny! What are you doing here?" she asked her childhood friend.

"Hey, it's no fun calling you Dee Dee if you don't get angry," he lamented.

"Maybe you should just stop it then," she said. "You didn't answer my question though."

"Isn't it obvious?" he replied. "I'm collecting ribbons to enter the Hoenn Grand Festival of course. I guess you have the same goal, don't you?"

"Yeah, I won my first ribbon two days ago. How about you?" She asked.

"Only one?" Kenny took out a ribbon case and showed her its content with a smirk. "As you can see I've already won three ribbons."

"Three? How did you get so many?" she asked with disbelief in her voice.

"Well, while you were cheering Ash on in the Sinnoh League I was busy doing contests here. I wanted to enter the Slateport contest too but I was too late," he added.

"You wouldn't have won it anyway since I was there," she remarked.

"Oh please, I would have wiped the floor with you. Maybe you would have put up a good fight though. The coordinators here are weak," he said with contempt. "There was only one guy named Harley who managed to defeat me and that only happened because I was overconfident after three easy wins."

Dawn decided to ignore his first comment.

"So you're going to enter the Mauville contest tomorrow?" she inquired.

"Sure. I'm trying to get my ribbons as fast as possible so I can do some hard training." Suddenly he got a bit embarrassed. "Do you… do you think you could travel with me for a while? We have the same goal after all."

_He's not my favourite choice as a traveling partner. On the other hand battling is the best training so my Pokémon could get a lot stronger. _Dawn also knew that he wouldn't give up that easily this time so in the end she accepted.

"Alright, but only if you are also headed to Fortree City," Dawn demanded.

"Yesss! Of course that's fine with me. Perhaps the coordinators in the eastern part of Hoenn are a bit stronger." Kenny could barely contain his joy. "By the way, we should probably run to Mauville City now."

"Huh? Why?" she asked confused.

Kenny just pointed to the sky which was covered by dark clouds. There was no doubt a storm was coming up.

"You're right. Let's go!" Dawn recalled her pokémon and started running along with Kenny.

Soon after that the rain began pouring down. They were lucky to have their umbrellas or they would have got soaked to the skin. When they finally reached the pokémon center in Mauville City it suddenly stopped.

_Great timing_, they both thought. After taking a shower and having dinner, Dawn decided to give her eevee some more battling experience so she challenged Kenny to a battle. The coordinators found a nice spot just outside the city.

With a flash all of Dawn's pokémon appeared in front of her, waiting for instructions.

"All right, guys. I want you to watch this battle and try to learn as much as you can." She turned to the male eevee. "I'd like you to do battle. Are you ready?"

He nodded nervously. It was clear that he wasn't comfortable with this but he simply had to gain some experience on the battle field. When Eevee was ready, Kenny called out a skarmory.

"You can make the first move," Kenny said.

"Eevee, use hidden power," Dawn commanded.

She waited but nothing happened.

"Is something wrong?" she asked the pokémon with a worried look.

Eevee was practically frozen with fear, a look of terror on his face. When he heard his trainer calling out for him, he just ran away as fast as he could with the other eevee following him. Dawn and her pokémon immediately ran after them, leaving behind a dumbstruck Kenny.

"I better leave this to her. It's her pokémon after all," Kenny mumbled while recalling Skarmory.

Dawn soon found the eevee sitting behind a big tree. The male one was shivering with fear as his friend was trying her best to console him. The blunette slowly approached them, fearing that he might try to run away again.

"Please don't be afraid. I just want to talk a bit," she said in a soothing manner, kneeling down in front of Eevee. "I don't know what caused you to freak out like that but it must have been really big. Let me tell you a story. I was once shocked by a minun and plusle which caused my hair to go up and sparkle like a diamond. The other kids made fun of me, called me names." Dawn shook her head. "It was horrible. In fact I couldn't look at minun and plusle anymore without getting a panic attack. Even worse I would always freak out whenever something happened to my hair, no matter the cause."

The eevee stared at the ground all the time.

"I ran away from my fears, never telling anyone about my true feelings. Until a rival of mine used a plusle and minun in a contest battle against me. It was hard, really hard. But I had good friends who helped me so in the end I won and finally overcame my fear." The coordinator gave him an encouraging smile. "I know you can do it too. Once you have done it you will feel much better, believe me. You will always have me and my pokémon to help you, no matter what. "

He looked at the other pokémon that gave him an encouraging nod. Now he stared at her eyes that were full of sympathy.

"Maybe my own problems are small compared to yours. Maybe you've been through much more. But I know this: If you continue doing this it will only hurt even more. And you're not only hurting yourself but also your friends who are trying to help you." She pointed at the female eevee. "I don't think you could find a better friend than her. But she can't protect you forever. You have to learn how to take care of yourself.

It won't be easy but you can't give up without trying. You can do it! So please try, you won't be alone."

_I hope I said the right things_, Dawn thought nervously.

"Please," she begged him again.

This was enough for Eevee who now started crying and jumped into her arms.

"It's alright. No need to worry. We'll always be there for you," Dawn whispered while petting her partner.

The other eevee watched this scene with tears in her eyes. She was glad that her friend was starting to grow up and fight his fears. She always failed to convince him that it was the best thing to do. But this trainer finally managed to do it. Maybe he needed someone he didn't know so well to tell him.

They stayed like this for a while until he stopped crying. Dawn smiled when she saw the determination in his eyes. He was ready to start the fight.

Buneary whispered something to Piplup who nodded, following her away from the group unnoticed.

Kenny was leaning against a tree when Dawn finally returned with her pokémon.

"There you are! I thought you'd never come back. What happened?" he asked with annoyance clear in his voice.

"I'll tell you later," she replied. "Now let's battle. Eevee is ready this time, right?"

"Vee!" Her partner nodded.

"Alright, come on out again, Skarmory." Kenny threw his pokéball in the air.

Once again Skarmory appeared in front of Eevee who looked like he wanted to run away again. This time, however, he stood his ground.

"Pip lup!", "Bun bun!" Everyone turned to the source of the voices where Piplup and Buneary were cheering and dancing with pink pom-pons.

_Oh how sweet of them_, Dawn thought.

"Can you see now how much they care for you?" she asked winking at him.

Even though he turned away she was sure that she saw a big grin on his face.

"Let's do this! Use hidden power!" his trainer commanded.

Eevee created several blue orbs and sent them towards Skarmory but they fell to the ground before they reached it.

"Oh right, he hasn't perfected it yet," Dawn mumbled.

"Aerial ace!" Skarmory reacted quickly flying towards Eevee.

"Double team!" his trainer ordered so he created numerous copies of himself. Skarmory only managed to hit an illusion.

"Now use quick attack," Dawn added.

Her pokémon hit the skarmory but it didn't seem to do any damage at all.

"Counter with steel wing," Kenny shouted at his partner.

Its wings started to glow and with a powerful strike it sent Eevee flying.

"Hang in there Eevee! Use wish," Dawn cried as he struggled to get up.

Eevee was surrounded by a white aura for a second while Skarmory was flying at it, attempting another aerial ace. Dawn knew that he needed some time so she ordered another defensive move.

"Escape by using dig!" she told him.

Skarmory missed again and was surprised when Eevee quickly came out of his hole again, jumping on its back. Once more he was surrounded by a white aura that now healed some of his wounds.

"Use hidden power again!" This time the orbs hit the armor bird pokémon at point-black range.

It fainted before it even touched the ground but Eevee had enough time to jump off its back again and land gracefully.

"That was fantastic!" Dawn cried enthusiastically while her partner stared at his knocked out opponent in disbelief.

"Woah, what the hell?" was all that Kenny could say before he regained his composure. "Well, it was her first battle, so it wasn't bad at all. Return."

Dawn's pokémon cheered as Eevee started to realize what had happened but it was only a short break.

"It's your turn, Sableye!" Kenny shouted.

Dawn checked her pokédex.

"Sableye, the darkness pokémon. It hides in the darkness of caves. Its diet of gems has transformed its eyes into gemstones."

"Let's finish this quickly. Use faint attack!" Kenny ordered.

"Counter with bite!" Dawn told Eevee.

The evolution pokémon managed to bite his opponent's leg before its attack hit him, knocking him out. His trainer picked him up.

"Don't worry, you did an awesome job. Please rest now." Eevee looked a bit surprised when she said that. Dawn couldn't help but wonder whether he expected her to scold him instead. Now it was time to finish the battle though, so she turned to her other eevee.

"Are you up to it?" she asked her.

"Eevee!" her pokémon replied excitedly.

"Alright. Use shadow ball." The attack flew towards Sableye who made no attempt to dodge it.

"Reflect it with shadow claw," its trainer commanded instead.

After Sableye hit the shadow ball it flew directly at Eevee but Dawn knew that the move wouldn't affect a normal type. It flew right through her creating a short visual effect in the process. When it made contact with her, her fur turned black while her eyes glowed in a blue light. It ended immediately after the ball left her body again.

"Well, that was interesting," Dawn mumbled a bit surprised. Then she got an idea.

"Eevee, double team and create a shadow ball with every copy!" Eevee obeyed so soon Sableye was surrounded by eevees with shadow balls floating in front of them.

"You do know that only one of them will actually do something?" Kenny asked her with a smirk.

"Of course I do. But do you know which one it is?" she replied with a mischievous grin. "Now send them flying with iron tail."

Using their tails as bats they shot the shadow balls at Sableye who tried to reflect them with shadow claw again but there were just too many so it was hit by the real one. It endured the attack only to see that now Eevee attacked it with hidden power. The darkness pokémon tried to dodge it this time. However, due to the leg injury in its previous battle it was too slow and got hit directly. It collapsed soon after.

"Well done, Dee Dee. But don't expect our contest battle to be that easy. You will face much more experienced pokémon there." Kenny recalled Sableye. "I'm going back to the center. What are you going to do?"

"I'll stay here a bit longer to practice my appeal," Dawn simply stated.

"As you wish. Well, see you," Kenny said and walked off.

"Bye," Dawn responded, not really paying attention. She was trying to figure out how to use that shadow ball look in an appeal.

It wasn't until later that evening that she returned.

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><p><strong>Why was Eevee so scared of Skarmory? The answer is in the next chapter along with the next contest.<br>**


	5. Chapter 5

**This chapter is mostly for information. The next one will contain more action and the Eevees' past.**

**Disclaimer: I don't own Pokémon or its characters.**

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><p><span>Chapter 5: Good News<span>

It was Dawn's turn now. Kenny just made his appeal with Empoleon creating a beautiful water show similar to those Piplup used to do but with much more power.

She was nervous about her appeal since it wasn't her usual style. Eevee on the other hand didn't seem to worry at all. Her training performance was perfect. In fact it was so good, that Dawn decided to surprise the two eevee with a special treat. Before she left Slateport City she asked Jeff whether he could give her the recipe for the eevees' favourite food.

He was hesitant at first but in the end he agreed. She had to promise him to never tell anyone about it though. Needless to say the pokémon were very happy to say the least. Now it was the time to see whether she was right to do this before the contest.

"Eevee! Spotlight!" The young blunette threw her pokéball into the air, sending out Eevee within a shower of pink hearts.

"Start with double team!" she told her. Eevee created a large ring of illusions surrounding her.

"Now shadow ball and iron tail!" The evolution pokémon and her illusions formed a shadow ball each. While the real one sent hers flying high into the air, the copies seemingly attacked each other. However, it became clear that they were merely passing the shadow balls like real balls using their tails as a bat. Not a single ball touched the ground.

When the real shadow ball finally came down the illusions hit the fake ones towards the real eevee who absorbed them all and ate her own shadow ball like Mamoswine used to eat his ice shard.

The effect was more intense than in the battle with Kenny. She looked truly frightening with pitch-black fur, glowing eyes and even some kind of black smoke leaking out of her body looking like a black mane. In addition it lasted much longer. Dawn smiled when she saw that everything went as planned.

"Now jump and use hidden power!" she shouted.

Eevee jumped high in the air with blue orbs surrounding her body. As soon as she reached a proper height she shot the orbs separately at her illusions. One by one the copies were hit and replaced by a blue pillar of light surrounding the still shadowy pokémon. When she landed the light subsided and Eevee shook off the effect of the shadow ball.

"Now that's fantastic. She managed to turn a cute, little eevee into a dark, mysterious beast," Vivian shouted at the cheering crowd.

The judges seemed to be impressed as well so Dawn was quite happy with this little experiment.

"You did a great job, Eevee. So how do you like it?" she asked her partner.

"Vee! Eevee!" She looked extremely thrilled.

_Maybe I should I change my style more often? Maybe not as often as Jessilina used to but from time to time it could really help, _Dawn thought while reflecting on this appeal.

When she reached the backstage she was greeted by Kenny.

"Well Dee Dee, I guess we'll meet in the second round," he said cockily.

"We'll see," she just stated.

But he was right. They both made it to the second round where they met in the semi-finals. It was Dawn's eevee versus Kenny's empoleon.

Eevee started the battle with a shadow ball surrounded by several hidden power orbs. Empoleon managed to deflect the ball with metal claw but the orbs hit him and dealt some damage.

"Drill Peck!" Kenny commanded.

Epoleon started spinning like a drill and launched himself right at Eevee who barely managed to dodge it but was hit by a metal claw right after. Other metal claw attacks followed which made him look like Empoleon was dancing while Eevee had trouble dodging all these attacks for a while.

"Use dig and escape!" Dawn's pokémon jumped into the hole she just dug.

"Hydro pump into the hole!" Kenny ordered with an evil smirk.

His partner shot a big stream of water into the hole which soon came out again with Eevee on top of it looking like a fountain. Eevee jumped off awaiting new instructions.

"Use double team and hidden power." She created many illusions of herself and used hidden power along with them.

Since Empoleon didn't know which one was real he could only hit hidden power orbs at random.

"Spin by using drill peck but spread your wings and use metal claw!" Kenny's idea worked as the whirling metal claw destroyed most of the orbs.

"Now use hydro pump instead of drill peck!" Kenny added when most of the orbs were destroyed.

Streams of water were flying in all directions, creating a kind of counter shield. Not only did it destroy the copies but it also hurt Eevee.

"Finish her off with hydro cannon!" Kenny said, already smelling victory.

The powerful attack hit Eevee hard and at first it seemed like she couldn't continue.

"Get up! I know you can do it," Dawn encouraged her.

Slowly she got up. When she reached her full height, she suddenly started to glow in a white light. Everyone watched in shock as Eevee evolved. When it was over, a lavender, catlike pokémon was standing there.

"Espeon!" she exclaimed. Dawn gained new courage.

"We can do this. Use hidden …," she started but was interrupted by a signal indicating that the five minutes were over.

She looked at the screen only to see that Kenny had more points left.

"The time's up and the coordinator with more points left is Kenny!" the MC shouted at the crowd.

Espeon lowered her head in shame. She was too late and now they lost the contest because of her. But Dawn didn't seem to be sad about it. In fact she seemed happy instead.

"That was great and you even evolved! You can be proud of yourself. Nobody can expect you to win your first contest so don't worry about it," she said as she took Espeon into her arms. "Now let's check my pokédex."

"Espeon, the sun pokémon. Its fur is so sensitive, it can sense minute shifts in the air and predict the weather."

Checking the pokétch app revealed her new ability to be magic bounce and psybeam as a newly learned move.

"Looks like I won again, Dee Dee." Dawn turned around and saw Kenny with a smug look on his face. "You did an awesome job with Espeon though. Otherwise she wouldn't have evolved."

"Thanks, Kenny. But next time I'll win. I'm going to phone my mom. Good luck in the finals," she said before going to the next videophone.

After she dialed the number, her mom's face appeared on the screen.

"Oh, hello dear. I just wanted to call you myself," Johanna told Dawn.

"Is it about the contest?" Dawn asked with a sigh.

"No, it's about your birthday. The first presents arrived so I wanted to know where to send them to," her mother explained.

"Oh, I nearly forgot that," she exclaimed. "Uhm, I should arrive in Fortree City within a few days. So I guess that's the place."

"Alright, I just hope they arrive in time," Johanna said. "It's quite a bunch. From Brock, Leona, Zoey, Ash,…"

"Wait, there is a present from Ash?" she interrupted her mother excitedly.

"You like him, don't you?" Johanna asked all of sudden.

"W-What? W-Why would you think such a thing?" Dawn blushed heavily and she knew it.

"Well let's see. You only asked about Ash but not about Brock. You are red as a tomato. You had that dreamy look when I said there is a present from him." Her mom listed the reasons. "You can talk about it. I'm your mother after all," she reassured her daughter.

"Fine!" Dawn sighed in defeat. "I guess I have a crush on him. But don't tell him!" she added hastily.

"Don't worry. But I think he might like you too. Ash told me some interesting things when he called earlier today. He's going to call you on your birthday. He also mentioned something about having a special surprise for you," she added with a wink that made Dawn blush even more.

"What are you implying? We're just friends!" she nearly screamed.

"I'm not implying anything, dear," Johanna teased. "But I guess you really like him quite a lot."

"How does he even know about my birthday? I never told him," Dawn asked now wondering who told him about it.

"He asked me before he returned to Kanto," her mom simply replied. "By the way, are you travelling with Kenny right now?"

"Yes, why do you ask?" Dawn asked with a puzzled expression but she was glad that the topic changed.

"Oh, it's nothing." Johanna waved it off. "In fact I think it's good that you don't travel alone anymore. You two can learn a lot from each other. Be careful nevertheless, okay?"

"Uhm, sure Mom," Dawn just replied.

"Before I forget it. Congratulations on your new pokémon. It's a pity you couldn't win this." Before Dawn could reply she continued. "I really have to take care of some other things now. Take care, Dawn."

"Okay, bye Mom!" Dawn said a bit confused by the sudden ending.

Johanna sighed after the screen went blank. She didn't really like Kenny as she knew he was the one to start the whole Dee Dee deal which caused so much pain for her daughter. But it was up to Dawn to decide who to travel with.

On the other side Dawn let out an excited squeal. _He not only remembered my birthday but he also sent a present. I can't wait to see him again even if it's only via videophone. I wonder what the special surprise might be. _She got lost in a dream world.

In the meantime Kenny has won the contest. While he was changing, Dawn waited in the entrance hall. She was still pondering about the talk with her mom and the news about Ash, when she noticed someone approaching her. He was of medium height with green hair and eyes.

"Hello there. You're Dawn, aren't you?" he asked.

"Uhm, yes, my name is Dawn. But how do you know? You don't look familiar to me at all," she replied with slight confusion.

"May told me a lot about you. I saw you here and at the Wallace Cup. By the way, my name is Drew." He held out a hand which she shook.

"Nice to meet you. May mentioned you as one of her rivals. By the way, where is she right now?" Dawn asked, now excited about more news.

"Well, I'm not just any rival but her most formidable one. After I've beaten her in the Johto Grand Festival finals she went off to Sinnoh to compete in contests there," he explained with a smug look.

"So she lost in the finals too?" Dawn now looked kind of sad. She knew how great May is and that she would definitely deserve becoming a top coordinator.

"Oh sure, ignore the fresh top coordinator right in front of you," Drew added as he did a hair flip. "It's not like it was her last chance."

"You're right. So what are you doing here?" the blunette asked him.

"I thought I deserved a short break so I returned to Hoenn. Now I travel around, watching contests and stuff like that. Meeting May's friends is definitely a plus. I've already met Zoey after a contest in Lilycove City. Quite impressive coordinator, even I have to admit." These news made Dawn even more excited.

"Zoey is in Hoenn too? Where is she now? Did she say where her next destination was?" Dawn began to overwhelm him with more and more questions.

"I don't know that. We only met briefly," he said while trying to calm her down. "Oh by the way, nice performance out there. If your pokémon evolved a bit earlier you might have had a chance." He tried to change the subject.

"You can't change the past." Dawn sighed. He was right, it could have been her second ribbon. On the other hand she gained a psychic type and more experience. "Well, it's nothing to be ashamed of. His empoleon is really powerful."

"I saw that," Drew said while scratching his head. "Is this Kenny your traveling partner?"

"Yes, why do you ask?" she inquired curiously.

"It's nothing. Oh, here he comes." Dawn turned around to see Kenny walking towards her.

He grabbed her by her wrist and dragged her with him.

"What the hell? I'm having a conversation!" she told him visibly annoyed.

"You shouldn't talk to strangers like that," he just answered without even looking at her. Still she could tell that his cheeks were a bit redder than usual.

Dawn gave Drew an apologetic look but he just waved it off and walked away, hands in his pockets. She turned back to Kenny.

"That was no stranger. He was one of May's rivals," she retorted.

"That doesn't make him any less of a stranger. You should be more careful," he said, still not facing her.

Finally she broke free of his grip.

"You can't tell me what to do! You have never been so protective about me. Why now?" she asked angrily.

"This is for your best. Since you're travelling with me I have to protect you," he answered with a glare. "You know your mom will have my head if anything happens to you."

Dawn was sure that he was not being entirely honest. However, he wouldn't tell her his real reasons no matter how hard she tried to get the answers. The dispute went on the whole day even during training. Only before going to bed they decided not to push the matter anymore.

The next day Dawn and Kenny were fishing at a lake between Mauville City and Fortree City where feebas are supposed to be more common. Dawn wanted a milotic ever since she met Wallace. Its grace, beauty, power and gentle nature always fascinated her. Kenny on the other hand thought this was a waste of time but in the end he agreed after Dawn gave him the puppy look.

"This is exciting," she exclaimed, "I haven't done this since I caught Buizel. I wonder whether he's with Ash right now."

Kenny just groaned, already regretting his choice. She was talking about him again. After some minutes it was over and everything was silent. He was about to fall asleep when her excited voice made him jump.

"I've got something!" She screamed as she tried to pull it out with help from Piplup. When it came out Kenny couldn't help but laugh. A magikarp flew right at her and knocked her on her back. She glared at Kenny who was roaring with laughter.

"What's so funny?" she asked him with annoyance.

"Are you serious?" he replied when he finally calmed down. "After all this time waiting you only get a lousy magikarp instead of a feebas!"

"Shut up! You're being mean to magikarp," she said as she looked at the pokémon who looked a bit down because of Kenny's comment.

"But it's the truth," he said as she took out an empty pokéball. "Wait, you aren't going to catch it, are you?"

"Why not? It's kind of cute. What do you think, magikarp? Do you want to come with me?" she asked the fish pokémon. At first magikarp seemed unsure whether she was serious but nodded in the end. After Dawn softly hit it with the front of the pokéball, the red light quickly vanished.

"I caught a magikarp!" she shouted.

"Amazing achievement." Kenny yawned. "You think every pokémon is cute. I heard you even befriended a grimer at a summer school. Besides what are you going to do with it? Magikarp are laughably weak."

"Every pokémon can become strong." That phrase reminded her of Ash again. You could call it one of his mottos. "I've seen one that could even hold its ground against Ash's pikachu."

"And what makes you think that you of all the people can train some random magikarp to be that strong, Dee Dee?" he asked with a smirk.

Dawn was about to answer when his fishing rod signaled that he had a bite. It turned out to be a feebas. Only seconds later she also had a bite.

"No fair!" Kenny complained when she also pulled out a feebas. "I didn't even get the chance to tease you."

Dawn just stuck out her tongue. Just when they were about to use the pokéballs, a rough voice startled them.

"How nice! You caught two feebas for me!"


	6. Chapter 6

**Author's note: This fic isn't based on the games, so it doesn't always strictly follow the game mechanics. A few Pokémon may know moves they can't learn in the games (which is not uncommon in the anime) but it will always be logical. For example, a psychic type may learn a move like teleport while a pokémon like Piplup will never learn fire blast or psychic. On the other hand, no pokémon will have an ability that it can't have in the games.**

**Disclaimer: I don't own Pokémon or its characters.**

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><p><span>Chapter 6: Bad Memories<span>

"How nice! You caught two feebas for me!"

Dawn and Kenny immediately turned towards the source of the voice, where they found a tall man, clad in black and wearing a black mask that covered his face completely. Next to him, an espeon and umbreon were standing. Behind him there was a skarmory, machoke, golbat and roselia. But what really made them nervous was the fact that Machoke was carrying two big, empty cages.

"Let's call out our pokémon. This guy means trouble," Kenny whispered.

She had the same, bad feeling. Therefore she called out Espeon, Eevee, Quilava, Pachirisu and Oddish while Piplup already stood protectively in front of his trainer. Kenny called out Empoleon, Alakazam, Sableye, Breloom, Skarmory and Koffing. When Eevee saw his opponents he backed off immediately.

"Espeon, use psychic! Umbreon, mean look!" the mysterious man commanded as he pulled out a strange looking gun from his bag.

While the psychic move pushed their pokémon together, the mean look surrounded them with a purple aura, indicating that they can't escape now. When they were close enough, the man shot a big bullet at them which caused an icy explosion on contact, completely freezing the pokémon. Dawn and Kenny could only watch in horror as most of their pokémon were stuck in a giant block of ice. The only pokémon left were Eevee, who backed down far enough to resist the pull from psychic, Piplup, whom Dawn caught just in time, Alakazam, as it managed to teleport away before the bullet hit and Sableye due to its immunity to psychic as a dark type. Unbeknownst to everyone, Quilava activated the flames on his head before he was frozen.

Piplup immediately tried to break the ice by using peck on it.

"Don't even try to free your friends," the man said. "Nothing you can do will break or melt the ice. It's much harder than normal ice so don't waste your time. Such a shame there's so little ammo," he mumbled.

"Who are you? Why did you do this to our pokémon?" Dawn yelled at him.

"I'm just a busy guy trying to earn some money," He answered calmly. "Many people want a milotic. Since they are extremely rare in the wild, catching feebas is the next best thing. But even getting feebas takes a lot of time. So I just wait for others doing the job for me. Those two will fetch a good price at the black market. Of course, I won't only take the feebas. Selling your other pokémon will increase my profit even more."

"So you're just a petty poacher," Dawn mumbled.

"What did you call me?" he asked, pretending not to have heard it.

"I said you're just a petty poacher." She raised her voice. "Just a lousy criminal who earns his money by stealing other peoples' pokémon. I was glad that Team Rocket was finally gone. And then someone like you appears out of nowhere!" She tightened her grip on feebas. "But I'm telling you this: You won't get anything from us! Neither feebas nor our pokémon!"

"Your girlfriend sure has a big mouth," the man said to Kenny, who just looked at her like she has gone crazy. He has never seen her that furious.

"I'm not his girlfriend," she shouted angrily. "Eevee, Piplup, let's fight."

Piplup was ready but Eevee looked uncertain.

"Is something wrong?" his trainer asked. When the poacher looked at him closely he let out a laugh.

"Hey, I know that eevee! So you follow that trainer now? A pathetic pokémon for a pathetic trainer, I guess," he exclaimed, shrugging his shoulders.

"Take that back right now!" Dawn yelled. "How do you know him anyway?"

"He was my pokémon a few weeks ago. Two eevee were bred to become my special hunter duo. He was supposed to evolve into espeon but that little coward would always hide after Skarmory beat him up a few times. Always hiding behind his little friend. I guess that's the espeon in the ice block." He looked at Eevee with contempt. "She was strong, but cared too much about you. You were a waste! A worthless piece of shit!" He turned back to Dawn. "In the end I tried to sell them, but they managed to escape. Because of their failure I had to get Umbreon and Espeon directly."

"Don't talk to him like that!" Dawn was really mad now. "Besides, I think you were the one that failed. How could any pokémon evolve with someone like you as its trainer?"

"Hmpf, big words from a little girl. Let's see if you can back them up in a battle!" He prepared for the fight.

"Wait! Why did you even want Umbreon and Espeon. There are certainly other pokémon who could do whatever you wanted." Dawn's curiosity got the better of her now.

"They have the skills I need. They are strong. They are quick learners. And most importantly: They are loyal. It's hard to find such a combination. Come here, Espeon." The pokémon jumped into his arms. "I taught her a lot of things, including many different moves and telepathy."

He softly stroked its fur. It was hard to believe for Dawn that this was the same person, who would steal pokémon to sell them on the black market.

"I have an idea. Why don't I just show you, how weak that little runt really is." He snapped his fingers. "Skarmory! Time to crush him again."

"Oh no, you won't!" Dawn replied. "Eevee, I know this will be difficult. But if you win here, you will have conquered your fears once and for all. What do you say?"

"Vee!" Dawn didn't need to ask. During his old trainer's taunts, Eevee got increasingly angry, fury replacing his fear. There was a look on his face now, that told the others, that this was his battle and that no one should interfere. Dawn was happy, that her speech seemed to have an even greater impact on him than she thought.

"I would have expected you to run away like the coward you are." The poacher seemed to be a bit surprised. "Never mind! Skarmory, use flash cannon!"

"Spin and use hidden power!" Dawn commanded quickly. She decided to use the same tactic she used in the battle against Kenny's skarmory.

Eevee did Dawn's trademark spin, dodging the stream of light while firing several hidden power orbs at Skarmory. The armor bird pokémon screamed in pain as they hit it right in the face.

"Jump on its back! Get hold of its neck by using bite!" Dawn commanded.

"Shake it off!" the poacher ordered when he saw that Eevee was already on his pokemon's back.

Skarmory flew high in the sky, doing different maneuvers as it couldn't attack him with its wings or its beak. It didn't have the intended effect though as it only caused Eevee to tighten his bite. All the time he shot orb after rob at Skarmory's neck. Soon its strength began to dwindle. As a result Skarmory lost height until a few more orbs right at the back of its head caused it to lose consciousness. Eevee managed to jump off right before his opponent crashed into the ground in front of its trainer.

"No! Skamory!" he cried as he hugged his fainted pokémon.

Dawn on the other hand rushed to Eevee who was panting for air now. Obviously it was really hard to stay on Skarmory's back.

"You did a wonderful job!" she told him with a big smile. It vanished when she saw the look on his face. He looked like he was in pain, as if he was fighting something. She sensed his desperation but also his determination to win this fight. However, she didn't know the reason until Eevee started to glow in a white light. Only then did she realize the importance of this moment. It wasn't the first time one of her pokémon fought that process. Old memories flooded her mind.

_I remember the time when Piplup refused to evolve. We had a fight back then because I couldn't understand his decision. Doesn't he want to get stronger? Is this normal? Is it my fault? Those were the questions I asked myself. In the end I came to understand and respect his decision though._

_This time will be different! No matter what his decision may be, I will support him right from the start. It's his decision, his life. _

"Eevee, do whatever you feel is right! No one but you can make the decision," Dawn told him. "But know that I will always be there to support you, regardless of your choice."

She wasn't entirely sure but she thought that she saw him nodding. Shortly after the light began to fade, revealing an unchanged Eevee.

"What was this about? He stopped evolving? Why would this idiot do that?" The man was really confused now. All the time he was trying to get Eevee to evolve and now his new trainer told him that it was okay to stop it? It didn't make any sense to him.

"He either doesn't know what to evolve into yet or he isn't sure whether he wants to evolve right now," Dawn explained. "Anyway, it doesn't matter at the moment. It's his decision and I won't force him."

Obviously Eevee became even more exhausted after that struggle. She would have to get him another everstone so that he wouldn't have to fight it all the time. The poacher turned his attention back to his fainted pokémon.

"And to think that this pokémon defeated my skarmory. You'll pay for this, you little bitch!" he shouted at her. It was clear that he was extremely furious now.

"We'll have to do this, Kenny," Dawn mumbled and turned to him, when she didn't receive an answer. He was practically frozen with fear.

"Kenny! Pull yourself together!" she yelled, getting his attention.

"You're right. I have to be strong. I have to protect you," he said embarrassedly. "Alakazam! Sableye! Let's get them!"

"Right, you protecting me." Dawn rolled her eyes. He obviously wasn't used to situations like that.

It was a five versus four battle. The fact that one of their pokémon was already tired didn't make things any better. However, they did have one advantage: They only had to command two pokémon each while their opponent had five. So he was bound to miss some things happening on the battle field as well as taking longer to give orders to everyone when facing new situations.

Umbreon quickly rushed to Alakazam to prevent it from using its psychic powers. Sableye did the same to Espeon. The difference was that Espeon and Umbreon were backed up by Golbat who made attacking its allies much more difficult. At the same time Piplup engaged in a battle against Roselia while Eevee battled Machoke.

Alakazam managed to hit Umbreon with thunder wave, but it was also paralyzed due to Umbreon's synchronize. They continued battling by using faint attack and focus blast repeatedly. Sableye used flash on Espeon which was reflected by magic bounce. Both of Kenny's pokémon were attacked by Golbat all the time.

In the meantime Piplup managed to hit Roselia hard with drill peck but was hit by magical leaf in return. Eevee could only dodge Machoke's attacks since he didn't have the strength to do a proper counter attack.

Dawn had hoped that they could knock out one of their opponents quickly but they couldn't find a way to breach their defences. On the contrary, their pokémon lost ground gradually.

Soon the poacher was confident enough to pursue his original goal.

"Golbat! Grab the feebas! Get rid of the kids if you have to!" he commanded.

Dawn's and Kenny's pokémon watched helplessly as Golbat flew towards Dawn with glowing wings ready to strike her down. She had already closed her eyes, preparing for the pain, when suddenly Feebas shot green glowing circles at the bat pokémon, putting it to sleep instantly. The feebas in Kenny's arms sent out a turquoise ball of energy at its opponent, dealing some damage. Everyone looked at the feebas in shock.

"Hypnosis? Dragon pulse? These pokémon must have had a trainer before!" the man yelled.

A cracking sound made them look behind, only to see that the ice surrounding Quilava was breaking. He quickly used flame wheel and hit the still sleeping Golbat, knocking it out in the process.

"Use flamethrower on Roselia! Piplup, drill peck!" Dawn told them, sensing their chance.

Roselia couldn't dodge both attacks at once so it was hit directly by the flames, fainting instantly. Shortly after, Alakazam and Sableye knocked out Umbreon with focus blast and brick break respectively.

Now the poacher knew that the tables have turned so he tried to escape.

"Espeon, come here!" he shouted desperately, right before his machoke was knocked out by hydro pump and swift.

"Get us out of here! Use teleport!" he ordered her. "You kids will pay for what you did today. This isn't over yet!" he added with a laugh.

He and Espeon shortly glowed in a white light before disappearing entirely. However, directly after that, they reappeared right next to their original position.

"What the hell? Why didn't it work? Try it again!" he yelled in panic.

Once again the disappeared in a white flash and reappeared at the exactly same spot.

"No! You used mean look, didn't you! But when?" he asked.

Dawn pondered about it for a moment until it hit her.

"We never used mean look. You did! My espeon's magic bounce reflected it back to you," she explained. "Piplup, use drill peck! Eevee, quick attack! Quilava, swift!"

These three attacks were too much for Espeon who fainted right on the spot. Now the poacher was trying to escape on foot. While running, he grabbed for something in his bag. Kenny reacted quickly.

"Alakazam! Stop him with psychic!" he ordered.

The man was surrounded by a blue aura and pushed against a tree, knocking him unconscious.

"Was that really necessary?" Dawn asked.

"Better safe than sorry," Kenny simply stated. "He still had that gun after all. We have to get our pokémon out of that ice block now."

"Leave that to me! You go call the police," she told him.

Kenny agreed so she ordered Quilava to use flamethrower repeatedly on the ice. It took quite a lot of time but in the end all the pokémon were free.

Now it was time to discuss the feebas' future.

"Thank you so much for helping us. I don't want to think about what would have happened if you weren't there," Dawn said to Feebas with a gentle smile. "Do you wish to come with me? I would be glad to have you by my side."

Feebas nodded eagerly. After all Dawn also protected it from the poacher. So Dawn used her remaining empty pokéball to catch the fish pokémon. Kenny also caught his feebas soon after.

Not even an hour later, the police arrived. They arrested the poacher who was already wanted for many thefts in Hoenn. Officer Jenny of Mauville City thanked the two young coordinators.

"You two have our eternal gratitude! This guy has robbed many trainers in the past weeks, trapping them with mean look and escaping by using teleport. Considering what you told us, it seems that his own tactic backfired on him," she told them. "He also had a lot of high tech equipment. We think he might be part of a bigger group so please be careful. Those kind of people don't take kindly to kids meddling with their affairs."

"Yes, ma'am," they both answered.

It was true that this made them feel a bit uncomfortable, but in the end they were glad to have brought an end to the poacher's activities. They agreed not to talk to anyone about this. He was embarrassed about his fearful behavior and she was ashamed of her uncharacteristic outburst. There was another thing Dawn wanted to talk about though.

"Kenny! Do you think your alakazam could help Espeon learning teleport?" she asked her rival.

"I don't know. It may be pretty difficult," he just answered.

"Oh please, Kenny! It would be so much easier with a pokémon that already knows the move assisting her. You could even consider it a birthday present for me," she begged him now.

"What? It's your birthday already? Why didn't you tell me?" he asked in utter shock.

"Not today, but in three days." She rolled her eyes. "Relax, you have never been one to remember things like that so I didn't expect it from you anyway."

Nevertheless Kenny was clearly embarrassed. "Fine! I'll leave it up to Alakazam." He called out his psychic type pokémon. "Dawn asked whether you could assist Espeon with learning teleport. Do you want to help her?"

Alakazam briefly looked at the sun pokémon before nodding. Dawn ran up to it, giving it a big hug.

"Thank you so much, Alakazam! Espeon will do her best, I promise," she said.

"Hey, you're supposed to hug me, you know?" Kenny complained.

"Why? You said yourself that it's Alakazam's decision!" she countered.

Kenny just mumbled something she couldn't understand.

Later that day, when Kenny was already fast asleep, Dawn approached Eevee because she wanted to talk about the events that occurred. Eevee was still awake, along with several of the other pokémon. It was probably because of everything that happened during the day.

"Eevee, can we talk about today? It's fine if you don't want to." Eevee slowly went up to her, then jumped into her arms and nodded. Piplup, Espeon, Alakazam and a few others were watching the scene with great interest.

"I'd like to know: Did you stop the process because you don't want to evolve at all like Piplup?" she asked him with a sympathetic look.

"Vee eevee!" Eeevee shook his head.

"So do you know what you want to evolve into? For some evolutions you need certain stones and I could help you to get one." But once again Eevee shook his head.

"I see." Dawn lowered her voice. "Sometimes I wish I could understand you and other pokémon. It would be so much easier to help you," she said sadly.

Alakazam said something to Espeon that made her pretty excited. After exchanging a few words she nodded eagerly. Whatever it said, it had a great impact on her.

The rest of the evening went by in silence until everyone went to sleep.

The rest of the journey to Fortree City was pretty uneventful. Apart from Kenny catching a kecleon, nothing special happened. Dawn noticed that Kenny preferred to train alone unlike Ash who would train with her all the time. This only made her miss him even more.

They arrived at Fortree City the next day. Both of them were stunned not only by the big trees but also by the fact that people actually lived on them. They didn't have much time to admire the city though as they had to train for the upcoming contest. It was on the day before her birthday so she had the chance to make it even better by winning her second ribbon.

The pokémon she chose this time was Quilava. Together they created a flashy appeal that she dubbed 'Shooting Star Eruption'. There was no doubt in her mind that she would make it past the appeal round unless something went wrong big time. Still she had a strange feeling that the next day would be full of surprises.


	7. Chapter 7

**This is it. The final chapter before their meeting (even if it's only on screen). Some people might think that Ash isn't the guy to remember anyone's birthday. There is a reason in the next chapter.**

**Disclaimer: I don't own Pokémon or its characters.  
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><p><span>Chapter 7: The Day before<span>

It was the day of the contest. Kenny and Dawn went to the backstage to prepare themselves. Little did they know that they would meet someone familiar there.

"Zoey!" Dawn exclaimed as she hugged her friend and rival.

"Hey, it's good to see you again, Dawn. You too, Kenny," she said while hugging Dawn back.

"Hey, Zoey. So you're also entering the contest?" he asked with a grin. "I guess, that's even more competition for you, Dee Dee. If I remember correctly, you have never won against her."

"There's always a first time," Dawn simply replied. "Tell me, Zoey. How many ribbons do you have so far?"

"I've got two of them. How about you?" Zoey asked.

"Only one. Kenny's already got four," the blunette said grumpily.

"You will have your five until the grand festival. No need to worry, right?" her rival encouraged her.

"Yes, no need to worry." She laughed at the mention of her catchphrase.

"Contestant Zoey, please prepare for your appeal!" A voice called for Zoey's performance.

"We should talk later. It's time for my appeal. Good luck to both of you!" she said as she ran off.

Kenny and Dawn watched Zoey as her leafeon made a beautiful appeal by creating a big, fast moving whirlwind of leaves and petals, capturing the leaves with energy ball and slicing them in midair with an elegant leaf blade until there were only petals left. Everyone complimented her on Leafeon's dexterity and speed. No one doubted that she would make it to the second round.

"That was great! Your leafeon is incredible!" Dawn hoped that she would meet it in the battle round.

"That's right. I didn't know it could be that fast," Kenny added.

"Oh, stop it." Zoey waved it off. "You still have to make your appeals, so don't get distracted."

Dawn was surprised to see that Kenny was using Empoleon again. It made an appeal similar to its last one with several minor improvements. It would be difficult for her if Kenny made it past the appeal round since he would have a significant type advantage.

But she had to worry about that later since it was her turn now.

"Quilava! Spotlight!" she shouted as Quilava came out of his pokéball in a shower of stars.

"Lava!" he exclaimed, happy about participating in a real contest again.

"Start with smoke screen and follow up with flame wheel!" The volcano pokémon used smoke screen on the ground, covering the whole stage in a thin layer of black smoke. The people could still see Quilava, who rolled to his side, charging up a flame wheel. He was now rotating horizontally.

"Now Swift!" The stars from the swift attack appeared to be on fire when they came out of the flame wheel. They began circling around the pokémon. As more and more stars were added, they merged into a giant flaming ring. The smoke on the ground created a nice contrast to the bright flames.

"It's time for the eruption!" Quilava finally ended the flame wheel and used eruption. A big pillar of flames shot up vertically, pulling the swift ring into it. As it went higher and closed in, its flames intensified. When it finally reached the pillar, it exploded in a red flash, sending out lots of glowing stars that burned up before they reached the ground.

"Ladies and gentleman, better make a wish. You don't see something like this very often," Vivian shouted at the cheering crowd.

Quilava was complimented by the judges who seemed to have enjoyed it just as much as the other spectators. With a good feeling Dawn returned to the backstage, where Zoey and Kenny were already waiting for her.

"A great performance. Now make sure that we meet in the finals. That's what I wished for, when all those shooting stars appeared," Zoey told her.

"Not if I have to say anything about it," Kenny remarked. "I won't make it easy for either of you."

"I wouldn't have it any other way," Dawn said to him.

After a few more appeals, the coordinators, who made it to the battle round were shown on the screen. All three of them made it. The very first match was Kenny against Zoey!

They called out Empoleon and Leafeon respectively.

"Leafeon! Use energy ball!" Leafeon shot a green ball at Empoleon.

"Drill peck!" Empoleon started spinning, launched itself at Leafeon and pierced the energy ball.

"Now Flash!" Zoey ordered. The bright flash made Empoleon lose its orientation, causing it to crash on the ground.

"Don't let it escape now! Grass knot." Several short vines came out of the ground, entangling the emperor pokémon.

"Swords dance! Then leaf blade!" While Empoleon was struggling to get up, Leafeon's tail and the leaf on its head started to glow green. After it made some elegant practice slashes at the air, it rushed at its opponent.

"Cut the vines and intercept the attack with metal claw!" Its wings easily cut through the plants then it turned to Leafeon, who was already really close. What followed was a battle of dexterity and strength, blade against claw. Slowly Leafeon gained the upper hand since its attacks were boosted by swords dance and leaf blade was the more powerful move. Finally it managed to hit Empoleon across the chest with its tail.

"Drill peck!" Once again Empoleon launched itself at Leafeon who blocked the attack with another leaf blade.

"Blizzard!" Kenny obviously had enough.

"Use dig!" Leafeon got into the hole it just dug, before a powerful storm of ice hit its location.

"Hydro pump into the hole!" Kenny commanded, remembering his last battle against Dawn. Just as Empoleon was about to flood the hole, Leafeon jumped out of the ground behind it, hitting it with another leaf blade. Empoleon was hit hard, but wasn't finished yet.

"Alright, use blizzard drill!" This command made Zoey nervous. She has never heard of such a move before.

The emperor pokémon started with a normale drill peck which changed when its beak started to emit an icy wind. Like a missile it hit the ground after Leafeon dodged just in time. The impact caused a powerful, icy shockwave though, which hit Leafeon. It prepared a counter attack but Empoleon has already fainted from the impact since it was already low on health when it began the move.

Leafeon returned to its trainer, who congratulated it.

"You did a wonderful job. I'm proud of you," she said.

Meanwhile, Kenny comforted his pokémon.

"Don't worry, you were great. You can't win every time." Empoleon nodded, accepting its defeat. "You and Leafeon deserved this. But next time, we'll win!" he said while shaking Zoey's hand.

"I don't think so but you can try anyway," she replied with a laugh.

fter a few more battles it was Dawn versus Zoey in the finals. The other contestants were stronger than those in Slateport City or Mauville City, yet they still managed to defeat them.

"Quilava! Spotlight!" Dawn shouted enthusiastically. She would finally battle her best rival again.

"Leafeon! Curtain!" Zoey was curious about the progress Dawn has made since their last battle.

"Start with swords dance." Zoey made the first move.

"Flame wheel!" Quilava launched himself at his opponent who was ready to block it with leaf blade.

"Use swift!" Dawn commanded. Quilava shot several flaming stars at Leafeon while retaining his flame wheel. The attack caught Leafeon off guard so it got it. Still, it managed to block the flame wheel itself. They continued to clash like that until Leafeon suffered a severe burn. It immediately retreated, no longer being able to block Quilava's attacks.

"Not good," Zoey mumbled. "Use sunny day!" A bright orb appeared above the stage, activating Leafeon's chlorophyll ability.

"Heal yourself with synthesis!" Leafeon started to glow in a radiant light but Dawn didn't intend on letting her finish.

"Hit it with flamethrower!" Before it could hit its opponent, Leafeon was already done and dodged it with elegance.

"Wow, that was fast," Dawn admitted. "Alright then, flame wheel again!"

"Block it with leaf blade again!" This time, however, the flame wheel quickly overpowered leaf blade due to the sunny day strengthening its power and the burn weakening Leafeon's attacks. Once again, it tried to use synthesis, but this time, Dawn was ready.

"Use smoke screen!" The black smoke engulfed Leafeon, not only blocking off the sun light but also the view on it. The verdant pokémon ended up regaining much less health than before.

Dawn looked at the screen. She had more points than Zoey right now. In addition, her rival's pokémon was heavily injured.

"Another flame wheel!" She wanted to finish it.

However, her opponent didn't attempt to block it again, only dodging it every time. Zoey knew that Leafeon wouldn't win a direct fight while affected by the burn. She waited for something else.

"Try flamethrower!" Dawn ordered, now a bit nervous.

"Dodge it, then use leaf blade and shadow ball." Leafeon dodged the stream of fire with incredible speed again, getting up close to Quilava. It hit him hard with leaf blade, sending him flying and followed it up with a shadow ball that hit him in midair.

Quilava landed roughly on the ground, but he didn't take too much damage. His trainer saw that he gained some distance.

"Use flamethrower again!" she told him.

"Do it once more!" Zoey shouted.

Dawn waited as Leafeon rushed to her pokémon.

"Now! Smoke screen!" Quilava clouded its surroundings along with his opponent once more so Leafeon couldn't see where he was. Unbeknownst to it, Quilava has jumped up, just above the cloud, preparing its attack.

"Flamethrower!" While in the air, he took a deep breath.

"Get out of there!" Zoey shouted, expecting a bombardment of the area. However, this was not what Dawn wanted. As soon as Leafeon stumbled out of the cloud, Quilava shot a well-directed stream of fire at it. Even with its chlorophyll ability, Leafeon couldn't dodge a sudden attack from that distance. It got hit directly, whirling up a lot of smoke.

When it cleared, everyone could see Leafeon still standing proudly. However, only seconds after, it collapsed exhaustedly, making Dawn the winner.

"I-I won?" she could hardly believe it. "Against Zoey?"

"Lava!" Her pokémon tackled her to the ground.

"You did it! We finally managed to defeat Zoey!" She hugged him closely, hoping that he wouldn't activate his flames. "I'm so proud of you! You will get an extra portion of poffins tomorrow. What am I saying? Everyone will get as many as they can eat."

Her other pokémon, that were watching the battle caught up and hugged her too.

"Don't feel bad about it. You did a great job," Zoey told her partner as she picked it up and walked to her rival.

"It seems that you managed to defeat me. It was about time," she added with a smirk. "Don't get too excited about it though. This won't make our future battles any easier for you."

"I wouldn't dream of it," Dawn replied while shaking hands.

"Vee vee eevee!" The sudden sound made her look at Eevee. He pointed excitedly at the leafeon in Zoey's arms. During the whole contest, he watched it with great interest.

"What's with Leafeon? Is something wrong with it?" she asked in confusion. Eevee pointed at it again, then at himself. "Or…Wait! Are you saying that you want to evolve into Leafeon?"

"Vee!" he exclaimed, nodding.

"It seems, your leafeon inspired my eevee," she said to Zoey before turning back to Eevee. "Alright! If that's what you wish, then we'll do everything we can to make it real, right?"

All of her pokémon shouted excitedly but they were interrupted by Zoey.

"You do know that he has to be near a mossy rock for it to happen? I only know of one and that one is in Eterna Forest," she explained.

"Uhm, excuse me?" The sudden interruption made everyone jump. It was Mr. Contesta. "Don't you want to receive your ribbon?" he asked Dawn.

"Oh, I'm sorry. We got kind of carried away," she replied embarrassedly, rubbing the back of her head.

"No problem, please follow me." He waved it off.

"Of course!" she said. "We'll talk about it later," she told the others.

After the contest they decided to go to a nearby restaurant, that wasn't on a tree. They continued talking about Eevee while eating. Their pokémon were playing outside.

"As I said, you have to go to Eterna Forest," Zoey reminded Dawn.

"That would take a lot of time. Isn't there another option?" she asked.

"As soon as Espeon masters teleport, you can do it really fast," Kenny suggested but Dawn shook her head.

"Espeon has never been to Sinnoh. She could only teleport us back once we're done." She sighed. "I guess I have no other choice."

Just then Eevee, who heard all of it, jumped on her lap and pointed at the everstone she got him.

"I think, he's trying to say that he can wait until you are ready," Zoey guessed.

"Is that true, Eevee?" Her question was answered by a nod. "Thank you so much! We should probably go as soon as we have a few more ribbons. Let's worry about that later."

After another nod, Eevee went back to the other pokémon. Even though he agreed to wait, Dawn felt guilty.

Of course, everybody wanted to know about everything that happened until they met again. About the contests, the ribbons and the pokémon.

Kenny's and Dawn's feebas caught Zoeys' attention.

"Where did you catch them? Maybe in a lake between here and Mauville City?" she asked curiously.

"Yes, Dawn heard that there are a lot of feebas, so she decided to go fishing," Kenny answered. "You know about it?"

"It's pretty popular here. It's also kind of sad." Now this did catch their attention. "Feebas have always been quite common in that lake, so people went there, caught them, trained them and sometimes even bred them. Everyone wanted them to evolve as quickly as possible without really knowing how to do it. As a result, most people simply failed. They held their pokémon responsible, called them useless and ugly. Many simply released them in the same lake when they grew too frustrated. I heard someone say, that probably half of the feebas there had at least one trainer before. But that's probably just a rumour."

They lowered their gaze.

"Just think about how the feebas must feel, being told all those things. They may even think it's their fault," Dawn said sadly.

"Well, we won't make the same mistakes, right Dawn?" Kenny tried to cheer her up. "We will get those two to evolve."

"Right! It may take some time but we just need to be patient." She told him.

"Glad to hear that. By the way, did you hear anything about poachers along the way?" Zoey changed the subject.

Kenny and Dawn looked at each other nervously.

"So you did hear something," Zoey said with a smirk. It was hard to make it any more obvious.

"I guess, there's no denying it." He sighed. "We not only heard about them. We were nearly robbed by one of them."

"Tell me about it," she inquired.

At first they hesitated, but after a little more encouragement they told her everything that happened.

"I'm not surprised," Zoey stated. "Quite a few trainers have been robbed during the last weeks. It seems that dozens of poachers have appeared out of nowhere. They all have pretty expensive equipment but they don't seem to belong to a group. At least that's what the people say."

No one really wanted to talk about this anymore, so they simply continued to eat. After a few minutes of silence, Dawn was suddenly hearing a noise, coming from nowhere.

"Do you hear that?" she asked nervously.

"Hear what?" both of her rivals replied.

"A crackling sound, it is pretty loud. You must hear something." Now she was really confused.

"I don't hear anything. Are you alright?" Zoey asked her with a worried look.

"I'm telling you, there is something. It doesn't seem to come from any direction though…" she tried to explain when it suddenly stopped. "Now it's gone! I don't understand!"

"Maybe you're just tired? You should probably go to sleep," Kenny suggested.

"I'm not … I'm sure … Fine, whatever. It's probably for the best." She sighed in defeat.

Kenny and Zoey looked at her with concerned expressions. Dawn wasn't one to make this kind of things up.

"Everyone, we're going back!" she called her pokémon.

After paying for the food, they walked back to the pokémon center in silence. Neither of them wanted to touch that subject right now. When they arrived, nurse Joy turned to Dawn.

"A couple of packages have arrived," she said and pointed at the birthday presents.

"Oh, dear. Can you two help me to get them to my room, please?" she asked her friends.

"Sure!" they answered. "I better make sure, you don't open any of them," Zoey added with a smirk.

"Oh come on, I'm not that impatient," Dawn replied, puffing out her cheeks. "I can wait one more stupid night."

Still she couldn't help but try to imagine what could be in these packages and which one is from whom. Especially which one he sent her. Those thoughts kept her from getting some needed rest.

Meanwhile a boy in Unova was also having trouble falling asleep. Tomorrow he would finally see his friend again. He felt a little silly, missing her already since it wasn't that long ago that he left Sinnoh. In fact, it confused him a bit.

_I have never been this excited about meeting another friend before. It's probably because it's her birthday. Dawn, I hope you'll like my present. It may not seem like much to others, but it means a lot to me. I've never told her how important her help was. I doub, that I would have made it nearly as far without her. She must think I'm selfish, just going off without getting her anything._

_She has done so much for me. I think she doesn't realize it herself. Even I didn't until she was gone. All that motivation she gave me just by smiling. Yes, that wonderful smile. Wherever I go, it is always with me. And those eyes!_

_I wonder where she is right now and how many ribbons she has. I'd love to see her perform again. It's a shame, that there are no contests in Unova. Maybe that will change soon._

_To think that I might meet her in person in a few months. Hm, I better slow down a bit. Nothing's definite yet._

Only after a long time did he slowly drift off. Tomorrow would be a big, happy day.

* * *

><p><strong>Who is this boy? You can probably guess as it's pretty obvious.<strong>


	8. Chapter 8

**It's a bit sad, that there are no birthdays in the anime, but what can you expect from someone who has been ten for so many years now?**

**Disclaimer: I don't own Pokémon or its characters.**

* * *

><p><span>Chapter 8: Friends and Surprises<span>

With a click, his face appeared on the screen.

"Hey, Dawn, it's good to see you again." She immediately brightened up when she finally saw him again.

"Hi, Ash! It's been such a long time. I've missed you." She replied with a smile.

"So are you ready for the special surprise?" he asked her with a big grin.

"Sure!" She nodded eagerly.

"Well, you see… I have found a girlfriend," he said, still grinning. Her heart sank, tears started to form in her eyes.

"W-What?" she whispered.

_What kind of surprise is that? Does he want to break my heart? No, he doesn't even know that I like him. Still, it's…. What should I do? I could just hang up. But what would he think? It would ruin our friendship. I don't want to lose him as a friend too. I … I have to be supportive. I've always been. He probably expects it from me. Yes, that's the best I can do._

"C-Congratulations, Ash! I … I'm happy for you," she stammered.

"What's wrong, Dawn? You usually don't stutter," he asked with a clueless look.

"I think she might be jealous." A new, female voice appeared. It belonged to a girl, who was now standing beside Ash, kissing him on the cheek. Dawn didn't recognize her, mostly because of the tears clouding her vision. "I think she expected you to love her."

"Is that true, Dawn?" He seemed to be confused. Not angry. Not sad. Just confused.

"N-No, I … It's just …" She couldn't even make a full sentence now. He shook his head.

"Think about it. Why would I ever love you? You're neither pretty nor talented. It doesn't make any sense. You should look for someone who is more suitable. Maybe Kenny is interested?" he said bluntly.

Dawn couldn't believe her ears. The things he said broke her heart piece by piece. Slowly she felt her consciousness slip away.

"Ahhh!" she screamed.

She looked around. It was dark. It was her room. And more importantly: No Ash, no girlfriend.

Fortunately, Piplup was still fast asleep.

"It was just a dream…" She sighed in relief. "Just a stupid, horrible dream. I shouldn't have left my lunar wing at home."

Still, it made her think. Was she really that scared of rejection, that she had nightmares about it? She looked at the clock. It was still 3 am. With another sigh she tried to get back to sleep. In the end, she managed to get a few more hours of sleep.

"Dee Dee, that's long enough. Get out of there!" Kenny shouted.

"He's right. I'm sure you already look just fine," Zoey added.

"Lup pipluup!" Piplup chirped impatiently.

Dawn has been in the bathroom for almost an hour now. Her friends were unsuccessfully trying to get her out again. They haven't even gotten to congratulate her yet.

"Just a moment, I still need to fix my hair." It was the answer they expected. Kenny and Zoey just groaned.

"We want to give you our presents. And what if someone wanted to talk to you?" Kenny hasn't given up yet.

"I wouldn't want them to see me like that anyway. I won't leave until I'm ready," Dawn simply replied. "I have to look perfect for him," she whispered to herself.

After ten more minutes she finally came out.

"And what exactly is different now?" Kenny asked. Zoey hit her forehead. How could he say that?

Dawn gave him a death glare. This definitely wasn't what she wanted to hear. Kenny realized his mistake and tried to change the subject.

"Uhm, happy birthday, Dawn." He shook her hand and gave her a small package containing six new pokéballs. "Since you used up yours, I thought I would get you a fresh set," he said timidly, still fearing her reaction to his comment.

"Thank you, Kenny," she said with a smile, having already forgotten it. "But I thought you already made me a present by helping Espeon with teleport. At least that's what I thought."

"Well, you see, Alakazam does most of the work, so it doesn't feel right," he answered truthfully.

"Aw, that's nice of you," she said and gave him a hug.

Zoey cleared her throat and gave Dawn a big hug.

"Happy birthday from me too. My present is among the others. Why don't you open them now?" she suggested.

"Thanks, Zoey. I think, I'll do that," she answered after a brief pause.

So they all went to the pile of presents, where Zoey showed her the one from her. It was a medium sized, red package which contained a coordinator pack full of capsules, seals and more accessories used in contests. Of course, Dawn loved it.

"Wow, thank you! It's pretty hard to find those in Hoenn," she said, looking at everything in there.

"That's why I chose it." Zoey explained.

The next present she opened was from Brock. Unsurprisingly, it was a cookbook with many recipes for both humans and pokémon. Additionally, there were a lot of handwritten notes full of suggestions and additional recipes between the pages. Since Kenny was a terrible cook, she decided to try it out.

Her mother sent her another book: 'The Trainer Book of Pokémon, Hoenn Edition'. Only by looking shortly at it, she could tell, that it contained all the knowledge she would need like moves, abilities, habitats and behaviour. It also contained a lot of knowledge she would hopefully never need like information on mating rituals. Why were things like that in a trainer book anyway?

Among the other presents were a giant piplup plush from May and a training set from Maylene. Since she never told those two about her birthday, Dawn decided to have a talk with her mom about giving away information a bit too freely.

Nevertheless, she was happy about the presents. Actually she didn't expect Maylene to remember her, let alone send her a present. Apparently their battle was even more important to her than Dawn thought.

Leona sent her a fine, new hairbrush. Maybe that's why her mom didn't want her to take a new hairbrush to Hoenn. She and Leona probably planned this all along.

Finally, it was time for Ash's present. It was packed sloppily but she didn't care. When she saw the present itself, she gasped. It was the hat he wore during his journey through Sinnoh.

"That's it? A hat?" Kenny asked incredulously.

Dawn just rolled her eyes.

_Of course he wouldn't understand. Ash rarely took it off and never let anyone else wear it. He treasured it almost as much as his pokémon. I wonder why he sent it to me. Is there a deeper meaning behind this? I have to find out, when he calls me._

Soon after, she got a call from her mom.

"Hey, dear. Happy birthday to you!" she told her with a warm smile.

"Thanks, Mom. And thank you for the present as well. It'll be really useful," Dawn replied. "I guess, you were the one who told May and Maylene about my birthday."

"Of course. You should be happy that you have friends who care about you." She was right. Dawn also asked Ash about May's birthday, so she knew it wasn't such a big deal. "Besides, I'm sure, you got nice presents from them."

"Oh yes, I did. Unfortunately, the piplup plush I got from May is a bit too big for traveling, so I will send it to you. Please make sure, it gets a nice place in my room," Dawn told her mother.

"No problem. By the way, I saw your contest yesterday. I loved those shooting stars," Johanna complimented her.

"Thanks mom. We trained hard for that appeal." It was true. It took a lot of time until Quilava could hold the eruption long enough.

"Why don't you ask Zoey to travel with you? I'm sure you can learn a lot from each other," she suggested.

"I already thought about it." Dawn pondered on it for a moment. "Do you think she'll say yes? Anyway, I should just try."

"Good. I will give everyone the right number, once they call." Johanna looked at her watch."I'm afraid I have work to do now. Have fun and bye."

"No problem. Bye, Mom," her daughter answered.

The next one to call was Brock.

"Hey, it's good to see you again. Happy birthday!" he greeted her.

"Thanks, Brock. I love your present and will definitely try out those recipes. We're tired of that traveling food anyway." She made a disgusted face. "Your food was so much better."

"Who do you mean with 'we'?" He wanted to know who travelled with her, now that he and Ash were gone.

"Kenny joined me soon after I arrived in Hoenn. I hope, Zoey will also come with us," Dawn replied.

"I see. So how is it going so far?" he asked curiously.

"I won my second ribbon yesterday. Against Zoey! It was so exciting. I also caught several new pokémon. Still, it's not the same without you and Ash around. But enough about me. How are you doing?" Now it was his turn.

"Oh, it's really hard, I can tell you that. I have to study a lot, so I don't have too much free time nowadays. But it's worth it. I'm going to become one of the best pokémon doctors in Kanto," he said proudly. "More importantly, nurse Joy of Pewter City is starting to like me back. She would be mine already if it wasn't for Croagunk stopping my advances every time."

"Is that really more important than your studies?" Dawn asked, now wondering how nurse Joy has been dealing with him so far.

"Of course! I would forsake everything for one truly romantic moment with her." He was getting into his 'hopeless-romantic-mode' again. "Neither the largest fire, nor the biggest volcano, nor even the sun itself burn as hot as my love for her." He made a pose. "It will be a shining beacon of hope, leading her to…"

"Croa!" He made a face when the poison jab hit him right in the stomach.

"Ahhhhrg … not … even … in … my … imagination! See … you … later." He stammered before he was dragged off by his pokémon.

"Ehm, bye," she said, shaking her head. "He will never learn."

It took a while until the next call. They spent that time playing with their pokémon or discussing new combinations. When it came, Dawn rushed to the videophone.

"Hey, Dawn, long time no see." It was him. Dawn could hardly believe her eyes even though she knew that he would call. "Happy birthday to you," he said with a warm smile.

"Thank you, Ash. It's so good to see you again." She could barely contain her joy.

"Pika pika!" Pikachu jumped on Ash's shoulder. He was also happy to see her again.

"Hey, Pikachu. I'm glad to see you too. I think there's someone who can't wait to talk to you." Immediately, Piplup jumped on her head while Buneary took a seat on her shoulder.

"Piplup pipluuup!" He was just as excited as his trainer.

"Bun bun buneary!" Whatever she said, it made Pikachu blush.

Ash and Dawn watched their pokémon catching up on everything before they returned to their own conversation.

"I hope you like my present. I know it's not much …" he started.

"Are you kidding me? It means so much to me!" she reassured him. "It will always remind me of our journey and our time together."

"I'm glad. It wasn't an easy decision. You know how much I like my hat. But just seeing your smile is worth it." Her face lit up instantly.

_There it is again, that smile. And those shining sapphire eyes_, he thought.

_Wow, I didn't know he could be so romantic. Since it was from Ash, it was probably unintentional, but still…. _She was really moved by his words.

"That's so sweet of you. I'll always take good care of it, I promise." There was no way she would let go of it now. There was a short silence between them, but it wasn't uncomfortable.

"So how are you? Are you traveling alone? Where are you now? How many ribbons do you have so far?" His curiosity got the better of him.

"Not so fast. Let's see. I'm fine. I met Zoey and Kenny. We're currently traveling through Hoenn. And I won my second ribbon yesterday," Dawn told him proudly

"Wow, congratulations." He didn't expect any less from her.

"I also have new pokémon," she added.

"Really? Tell me about them." Now that's a topic he loved to talk about.

"Well, at first I caught two eevee, one of which evolved into Espeon and the other one wants to evolve into Leafeon. Then there's an oddish, magikarp and feebas," she told him. "You must have many new pokémon too."

"As you may have heard, I'm in Unova now. They can only be found in there, so you probably have never heard of those. I caught a pidove, snivy, oshawott, tegip and sewaddle. My scraggy hatched from an egg I got. Pidove and Sewaddle evolved into Tranquill and Swadloon respectively." He was right. She's never heard of them.

"They sure sound exotic. How many badges do you have?" Dawn asked.

"I recently obtained my third," Ash said proudly. "The gym leaders here are tough. There's also a new rival called Trip. My last battle with him ended up in a tie. He's not as bad as Paul used to be but he still calls me weak and a hillbilly."

"Why would he do that?" She frowned.

"He doesn't seem to like Kanto in general." He shrugged.

"That's not nice. You shouldn't put up with that," she told him.

"It's okay, I will pay him back in battle." He waved it off and moved on to a new topic. "I found new friends as well. Iris wants to become a dragon master. She calls me a kid all the time and can be annoying but she's a good friend all in all. Cilan is a pokémon connoisseur. That's someone who can determine the compatibility between a trainer and his pokémon or something like that. He's also a great cook and offers good advice."

"Tell me more." She said. He made a face.

"What? Do you want me to tell you about everything that happened since I left Sinnoh?" he asked her.

"Why not? Knowing you, it must be exciting," she said with a grin.

"Fine!" He sighed in defeat.

So he told her everything he could remember. Although he didn't think it was that exciting, she seemed to be fascinated. I took him quite some time until he was finished.

"So, that's pretty much it." He sighed again. "At least I think I haven't forgotten anything important."

"Wow, wherever you go, something is bound to happen." She wished she could travel with him once more.

"Oh, please. I'm sure your journey was just as exciting." He was waiting for her to speak up. "It's your turn now."

"Alright. But it's not nearly as great as your story," she warned him.

So she told him everything, including their battle against the poacher. When she mentioned Golbat'S attack, she was surprised how angry he looked.

"So you're basically telling me, that he was trying to kill you to get that feebas?" he growled.

"Uhm, I guess you could say that," she mumbled.

"That bastard! If I ever meet him …" He clenched his fist.

"Ash, stop! He didn't succeed and now he's in prison. There's no reason to get upset about it." She has never seen him like that before.

"If something had happened to you, I would have never forgiven myself for not being there to protect you," he whispered.

"Why are you so overprotective all of sudden?" she asked confused.

_Yeah, why am I?_

"You're one of my best friends after all. Why wouldn't I?" It wasn't a complete lie.

"Hm, alright. Let me finish my story," she felt that there was more, but accepted it.

In the end, Ash felt confirmed about his thoughts. She did well without him. Now it was time for him to announce something.

"I think I should tell you about the special surprise now," he said with a grin.

Dawn immediately tensed up due to the memories of the nightmare she had.

"I'm not going to beat around the bush." He took a deep breath. "There are rumours that the next Wallace Cup will be held in Unova."

"What? But I thought there were no contests in Unova?" she asked, surprised at the information.

"That's exactly the point. They say that Mr. Contesta wants to change that. By convincing Wallace to hold the next Wallace Cup in Unova, he wants to introduce contests to the people there," Ash explained. "If it is a success, people might get interested in holding professional contests regularly."

"Wow, that sounds amazing. A little too amazing." She pinched her arm. "Ouch!"

"What was that for?" he asked with a worried look.

"Just making sure this isn't a dream. No need to worry," she tried to reassure him with a fake smile.

"Come on, Dawn. I can see that there's something bothering you," he told her, his brown eyes full of sympathy.

Dawn sighed. He could always tell whether her smile was fake even when no one else noticed. It was just another thing she loved about him.

"I … I had a nightmare about this. It … wasn't pleasant. Please leave it at that," she begged him.

"Alright, I won't force you. But you know, you can always come to me when you need to talk about something," he replied with a genuine smile.

"Thank you, Ash. You're the best friend anyone could wish for." She really meant it. "Now are you sure about the Wallace Cup?"

"As I said, those are only rumours. But if they prove to be true, I'd be glad if you could come to Unova." Now this was exactly what she's been hoping for.

"Of course I'd come. I've already thought about visiting you. And that would be the perfect occasion." She had slight trouble keeping herself from daydreaming.

"You should probably tell Kenny and Zoey as well. We could have a nice, little reunion," he suggested.

"Sounds awesome! I'll be sure to tell them." She nodded eagerly, although she hoped to get a few moments alone with him.

"Okay, I better go now, Iris and Cilan are probably looking for me right now," he said, scratching the back of his head.

"Okay." She decided not to ask why he didn't introduce them on the phone. He probably had his reasons. "It was good to talk to you again. I will miss you in the months to come."

"Don't worry, we'll see each other again. And be careful," he added with a concerned look.

"I can take care of myself. No need to worry," she blurted out. "Don't say it!" she added when was about to reply the usual way.

"As you wish." He laughed, but got serious again quickly. "Bye, Dawn."

"Pikaaa." Pikachu waved her, Piplup and Buneary goodbye. Piplup and Buneary did the same to Ash and his pokémon.

"Take care. Bye."She gave him one last smile before they hung up.

There was one thing she wasn't happy about. She didn't have the courage to confess after all. It was such a good talk, she didn't want to ruin it. Still, it went better than expected. She sincerely hoped that those rumours were true.

A bit later, Maylene and Leona called and they talked about the things that have happened since they last met. Maylene was still the leader of the Veilstone Gym and stronger than ever. Leona has started her journey through Sinnoh as a pokémon trainer. It wasn't easy but all in all she was doing quite well.

The last one to call was May.

"Hey, Dawn, good to see you and happy birthday!" May exclaimed excitedly.

"Thanks, May. The piplup plush is awesome. So soft, warm and fluffy. Almost like the real one," Dawn said. "He also loved it. I think he's taking a nap on it right now."

"Glad to hear that. So how are you doing?" May inquired.

"I'm currently traveling through Hoenn. Drew told me you are in Sinnoh right now," Dawn told her.

"You met Drew?" she asked, eyes narrowing.

"Yes, he also told me about your loss in the finals of the Johto Grand Festival. I'm sorry to hear that," Dawn said with a sad smile.

"Oh, that jerk," May mumbled as a slight blush appeared on face. "What else did he say about me?"

"Nothing really. Wait, are you blushing? Why?" Fortunately for May, Dawn was pretty clueless right now.

"What? No, I'm not," she tried to wave it off.

"No you are blushing," Dawn stated. "Are you afraid he might have told me embarrassing things about you?"

"Yes, I am. I'd kill him if he did that." May hid her face behind her hands.

"Okay, okay." Dawn accepted it. "Anyway, as I said, he didn't tell me anything else."

"Good. I heard you made second place in the Sinnoh Grand Festival?" May changed the subject.

"Yes, Zoey was a bit too good for me." Her friend sighed. "But I managed to beat her yesterday."

"Oh, how many ribbons do you have so far?" she asked.

"Two, how about you?" Dawn replied.

"Same here. Let's meet sometime after the grand festivals," May suggested.

"I have an even better idea." May looked at her in confusion. "How about we meet at the Wallace Cup this year?"

"Do you know where and when it will take place?" This definitely caught her attention.

"Well, there have been only rumours yet, but it's supposed to be in Unova. Ash told me earlier. He said we should meet there," Dawn told her.

"That would be awesome." May squealed. "But I will win this time!"

"You can try, but I won't make it easy for you. Don't forget to tell Drew about it," Dawn added.

"Stop it already!" May cried.

"Okay, okay." Dawn said. "I still don't understand why you react like that though. Anyway, I better get going. Kenny and Zoey want to show me something."

"Alright, have fun! Bye bye!" her friend replied cheerfully.

"Bye, May!" Dawn now wondered whether May reacted like this because she had a crush on him. That would explain her blush. Before she could think about it more, Kenny and Zoey, who were waiting impatiently, dragged her to her room.

When she sat down, Piplup and Buneary entered the room, carrying a chocolate cake.

"Where did you get that?" she asked surprised.

"Your mother sent it. We just didn't tell you until now," Kenny answered.

"Sneaky. Let's eat it now." They shared the cake which was delicious despite the long journey from Sinnoh to Hoenn.

They spent the rest of the day playing with their pokémon, making them food and talking about various things, including the Wallace cup. Both Kenny and Zoey agreed to enter it. Furthermore, Zoey decided to travel with them, at least for a while.

The next day they prepared to travel to Lilycove City, where the next contest would be held.

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><p><strong>The next chapter will be dark. In two different ways.<strong>


	9. Chapter 9

**This chapter is darker than the previous ones. In my story, Zoey's Glameow is male, Dawn's Magikarp is male and her Oddish and Feebas are female.**

**Disclaimer: I don't own Pokémon or its characters.**

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><p><span>Chapter 9: The Second Encounter<span>

„Glameow, shadow claw!" Zoey commanded.

„Counter with stun spore, Oddish!" Dawn ordered her pokémon.

Oddish surrounded herself with a brown cloud of spores. Glameow stopped the attack, not wanting to get paralyzed.

Dawn trained for the Lilycove contest. Even though Zoey decided not to enter it due to her recent loss, she agreed to train with her rival. Oddish made some major improvements after many training battles. Now it was time to finish this one.

"Energy ball!" Glameow dodged it easily though.

Soon the cloud dispersed, which allowed him to resume his attack.

"Use acid!" When Glameow hit her with shadow claw, Oddish sprayed acid, hurting her opponent.

"Now use …," Zoey started, but she got distracted by Oddish glowing in a white light. "Looks like she's evolving. Let's stop the battle."

Not only did she increase in size, but a flower started to bloom on her head and she got a pair of arms, while her leaves withered a bit.

"Gloom!" Dawn's pokémon greeted her when it was over.

"Let me check my pokédex," Dawn mumbled.

"Gloom, the weed pokémon. The honey it drools from its mouth smells so atrocious, it can curl noses more than a mile away."

"I don't smell anything. But you evolved so soon." She looked at all the changes.

"She was probably close to evolving when you caught her. And you trained really hard today, so that's not surprising," Zoey explained.

"You're probably right." Dawn agreed. "We also trained a lot on our way to Fortree City. Gloom, do you want to compete in our next contest?"

"Gloom!" She nodded.

"Alright! Then we have to create a new appeal. But let's take a break first. You must be tired after all that training," Dawn said.

She took the time to read about Gloom in her new book. It said that a gloom could emit a stench so horrible, that it could knock out other pokémon or humans. However, it wouldn't do that if it felt safe. It also mentioned that Gloom could evolve into a vileplum or bellossom, depending on the stone used. But since Gloom has just evolved, she decided to ask her later.

Kenny was training with Breloom all the time. He was probably going to use it in the next contest. Zoey on the other hand was taking a nap. Dawn decided to do that as well. But first she wanted to give her pokémon a bath in a nearby lake. Piplup, Buneary,Espeon, Gloom and Magikarp really enjoyed it. Dawn tested a cream she found in the coordinator pack she got from Zoey on Feebas. It made her scales shine in the sun.

"Wow, you are so cute. Don't let anyone ever tell you that you are ugly." Dawn was really impressed by the result. Feebas seemed to be a bit embarrassed. "It's true. You are beautiful. Sometimes it takes just a little to bring it out."

They were interrupted by the sound of explosions in the distance which even woke up Zoey. After recalling their pokémon they decided to find the cause. It didn't take long to find a blaziken and an absol fighting at the other side of the lake. The explosions were probably caused by Blaziken's blaze kick as the field was full of fiery craters. There was also a bulky man dressed in black standing nearby, surrounded by a machoke and an ariados. He seemed to be the trainer of the blaziken. Machoke was carrying two cages with another absol in one of them. They quickly hid in the bushes.

"A poacher," Zoey whispered with a gloomy look.

Dawn just nodded.

"I'll call the police," Kenny said as he took out his phone.

Absol took out Blaziken with a powerful psycho cut. Ariados was now battling it.

"They'll be here too late. We have to do something," Dawn told them after watching it for a while.

"Are you crazy? We nearly lost our pokémon last time," Kenny reminded her.

"No, she's right." Zoey agreed. "But we have to make a plan first. Just rushing in would be too dangerous."

"Okay, do you …." Dawn couldn't finish the sentence though.

They heard something behind them. When they looked, there were three ariados coming out of holes in the ground. They used string shot to tie up the coordinators along with Piplup and dragged them to the poacher. Only Glameow managed to hide in the bushes.

"Oh no, anything but ariados," Dawn whined.

Absol and Ariados were still fighting when the three coordinators were brought down on their knees in front of him, the ariados' fangs pointed right at their necks. Piplup was thrown into the cage with the absol.

"Well, well, well. Look what present my dear ariados brought me." He looked down at them. "Stupid kids shouldn't interfere with the affairs of grown-ups. Now you've only increased the number of pokémon I can sell."

"Leave them alone. They aren't yours!" Zoey yelled at him.

"Oh but they are. I'll just finish this battle. Use bug bite!" He shouted at Ariados, who had already gained the upper hand against an exhausted absol.

It hit the disaster pokémon hard, but it wasn't finished yet.

"Oh yes, that one is valuable. Use bug bite once more!" he commanded.

It overpowered Absol's psycho cut and knocked it out. After Ariados used string shot on Absol, Machoke threw it into the other cage.

"Now that that's out of the way, let's have a look at your pokémon, shall we?" he said to his prisoners with a smirk.

He took Dawn's pokéballs and sent out the first pokémon.

"A feebas? Wait! Aren't you the brats that got David arrested?" he asked.

"If you mean another poacher who was between Mauville City and Fortree City, you're right," Dawn told him.

"Haha, good job." Now that was a reaction they didn't expect. "We laughed so hard when we heard he got his ass kicked by some kids."

"We? Who do you mean?" Zoey asked.

"That's none of your business," he just retorted. "But I should be thankful. Less competition and that bastard got what he deserved."

"You would say something like that about a friend?" Dawn was confused.

"Young lady, we don't have friends, we have rivals. How naive can you be? We manipulate their work, we steal their pokémon, we destroy their equipment. Sometimes we even kill them. It's just business," he explained.

"Just business?" Dawn was mad now. "I thought Team Rocket was bad, but at least they stuck together and never actually attempted to kill anyone. You treat it like a game. You don't care for human or pokémon life. You are despicable."

"Yeah, she's right. You're scum," Zoey agreed.

"You know, you have a big mouth," the poacher pointed out. "I would probably do the world a favor by shutting it forever. But I have a better idea. After that I'll take you with me. And then we'll have some fun."

"What kind of fun could we possibly have with someone like you?" Dawn replied angrily.

"So innocent…. Maybe I will play with that nice ass of yours. Or maybe your boobs. Or maybe both of them." Dawn and Zoey immediately paled. "Who knows? Maybe I will force you to make out in front of me, wouldn't that be nice?"

"You wouldn't dare!" Zoey yelled at him, while Dawn was too shocked to say anything. Zoey hoped that Glameow would stay hidden. He wouldn't have a chance right now.

"Of course I would. You probably aren't good for anything else anyway," he said, licking his lips.

"Don't talk to them like that!" Everyone looked at Kenny, who seemed just as surprised about what he just said. "D-Don't talk to them like that. They don't deserve such a treatment."

"And who are you to order me around?" the poacher asked him. "I could just push you into the lake."

"No! There's no reason for you to hurt him too," Dawn cried.

"I thought, you would stay quiet now. Looks like I failed." He kneeled down next to her. Her eyes widened as his hand went beneath her shirt, touching her skin. As he trailed further up her body, ignoring the pleas of her friends, her consciousness started to slip away until he suddenly stopped. "Shall I go further?" he asked her with a dirty smile.

She just shook her head. Tears were already streaming down her eyes. She didn't want this to happen. She wished Ash was here to protect her.

"Then shut the hell up and let me do my work." His hand retreated and he slapped her. "Same goes for you! Business first, we can have fun later. Let's see the rest of your pokémon."

He sent out Buneary who was shocked to see her trainer and companions imprisoned.

"Don't get any funny ideas. One wrong move and those three are done for, get it?" the poacher told her. Buneary lowered her head in defeat. She knew that it was hopeless. Just like Feebas and Piplup she was put in one of the cages.

The next one was Magikarp.

"Magikarp? MAGIKARP? Are you fucking kidding me? Now I'll definitely take you with me for presenting such a useless pokémon." He kicked Magikarp with full force into the lake. "Never come back, you pathetic creature."

"Kaaarp," he cried in pain as he fell into the water.

The poacher didn't notice but there was a bright light coming out of it. When he heard a roar, he finally turned around again.

"Gyarados? What the hell?" His eyes widened. "I've kicked a lot of magikarp, but this is the first time that happened."

Gayarados shot a hyper beam at the ariados guarding the coordinators, knocking out all of them at once.

"Damn it, you useless creatures. Ariados, you take care of it!" he shouted desperately at his the fourth and strongest one.

But ariados, having just seen what happened to its three friends, was too afraid to get any closer to Gyarados.

"Attack it NOW! Poison jab!"It tried to attack Gyarados, but was taken out with one swing of its tail.

Before the poacher could grab his bag to get a weapon, he was knocked out by another swing. Machoke just ran away when it saw what happened to its master.

"Gyarados, you saved us!" Dawn cried, tears still running down her face.

"Ahem, Dawn, are you sure you have him under control?" Zoey asked.

"What do you mean, I …" She stopped when she saw the look on Gyarados's face. It was one of pure rage. "Oh no!"

They screamed as Gyarados attacked them but they were rescued by Glameow who hit him with thunderbolt.

"I'm so glad to see you!" Zoey cried. "Hit him once more."

Slowly Gyarados collapsed after two consecutive hits. While he was down, Piplup, Buneary and Glameow talked to him. Although the coordinators couldn't know what it was about, it sure had a soothing effect on Gyarados. They talked for a whole while until everyone went silent.

During their talk, no one noticed the voice coming out of the poacher's bag: "Police cars approaching your position. I repeat, police cars approaching your position. Get out of there! Over."

"Glameow, get Gallade out of his pokéball." Zoey commanded.

When he appeared, he could only look in confusion at the bizarre scene in front of him.

"Cut those bindings first." Gallade freed them all, including the pokémon in the cages by destroying the lock. Dawn's pokémon rushed to their trainer, the absol ran away. "Thank you, now please tell me what Gyarados says."

"What? He can talk?" Kenny asked.

"No, of course not! But he can use telepathy," she told them.

"Wow, you taught him that?" He was really surprised.

"Actually, he already knew it when I caught him. You see, some pokémon have it as a natural ability or they can learn it with minimal effort. Others can learn it like a normal move. Those are mostly psychic types or highly intelligent pokémon like lapras," Zoey explained.

"That's amazing." Both of her rivals exclaimed.

"Yes, I was also surprised when I found out," she agreed. "But now listen to what Gyarados has to say."

As Gyarados spoke, Gallade translated it to Zoey, who told the others about it.

"He says that he doesn't think that Dawn is strong enough to be his trainer. But since she took him in as a weak magikarp and her pokémon speak so highly of her, he's going to give her a chance. If she manages to defeat him in battle right now, he will obey her." Dawn nodded

"I accept. I'll show you that I'm not weak." She didn't really want to battle after everything happened. She just wanted to go to sleep. But she had to be strong now. For her pokémon. So she wiped away her tears. "But don't you want to recover first?"

"He says that he's not a weakling. He wants to battle now." Zoey told her his answer.

"Alright, Buneary, you take care of that," she said.

She heard a growl from Gyarados. He probably didn't take her seriously due to her size. He tried to use bite on her.

"Bounce and dodge it." Every time he tried to bite her, she would jump away. Dawn hoped that since he just evolved, he wouldn't be as fast as a normal gyarados and it seemed she was right.

After several tries he had enough and shot a hyper beam at her.

"Bounce and spin." Buneary jumped right at the beam, using the spin to avoid it. Gyarados watched as she landed on his head but couldn't do anything since he had to recharge.

"Dizzy punch!" The attack hit him right on the head.

"Now bounce!" She jumped up high. Gyarados faced her, preparing another hyper beam. "Thunderbolt into the mouth!"

The attack hit him hard and he fell into the water, too exhausted to fight. When he got up he spoke to Gallade again.

"He says that he wants to learn how to move like that and how to counter it." Zoey explained with a grin.

"So, does that mean you'll accept me as your trainer?" Dawn wanted to make sure she understood right.

After a brief pause he nodded, which made her put on a genuine smile.

"We'll be a great team," she promised.

"How touching." Everybody looked at the source of the voice. The poacher had regained consciousness and now he was pointing a gun at the coordinators. "One wrong move and I'll shoot you all. Now I get a gyarados instead of a magikarp. Such a pity for you. You were so arghh…."

A growlithe bit his arm, causing him to drop the gun. Only seconds later he was surrounded by several policemen who arrested him.

They thanked the coordinators for what they've done. Zoey told them everything about the encounter, which only confirmed, that the poachers are not working alone. After that, they continued their journey.

Soon they noticed that something was following them. It turned out to be one of the absol they rescued. Once again Zoey's gallade translated for them.

"It seems this absol wants to join us if we manage to defeat it in battle," she told the others. "You should go first, I already have a dark type."

"Two of my pokémon evolved today, so I think it's fair if Kenny gets to challenge it first." Dawn really wasn't in the mood for battling.

"Thank you, I'll catch it. Go, Breloom," he shouted.

Both of them prepared for battle.

Absol started by shooting a lightning into the sky.

"Future sight, huh? Put it to sleep with spore!" Breloom released a cloud of spores, flying slowly towards its opponent.

The blade on Absol's head started to glow and it shot several purple glowing rings at Breloom. They went right through the cloud and hit it. Before the cloud reached it, it jumped over it.

"Wow, it sure can jump. Now mach punch!" The attack hit Absol before it could react.

Breloom was about to follow up with another punch, when the future sight hit him in the back. Now Absol used the distraction for another psycho cut to knock out Breloom.

"No! Breloom!" Kenny cried. "Fine! You have won."

"Go Dawn. It's your turn now," Zoey told her.

"Really?" Dawn asked and her rival nodded. "Alright! Go, Piplup."

Absol once again started with future sight.

"Use bubble beam!" He shot a stream of bubbles at his opponent who managed to dodge it and countered with night slash.

Piplup dodged it several times until Absol just stood there, waiting for something. Dawn knew what it was and got an idea.

"Use whirlpool!" Her pokémon did as he was told.

When the future sight attack hit, it was just absorbed by the whirlpool. Absol was so surprised by that, it didn't notice that Piplup threw his attack towards it. It got sucked into the whirlpool and when it finally got out again, Piplup was already waiting and hit it with hydro pump. Absol was smashed against a rock, barely able to stand up.

It was Dawn's chance. She threw her pokéball to capture the dark type. After a short time the red light vanished.

"I'm glad to have you with me," she whispered as she took the ball.

Her friends weren't surprised by her lack of enthusiasm. It would take some time to get the old Dawn back.

Later that evening, she approached Zoey after Kenny went to sleep. It was a beautiful evening even though it was unusually cold. They just sat there in silence for a while.

"Can you tell me your secret?" Dawn suddenly spoke up.

"What do you mean? What secret?" Zoey asked.

"I mean, you act like nothing happened today. You're still your usual self. How do you do it? How can you be so strong?" Dawn wanted to know.

"Of course those events affect me. It was horrible to be that helpless, to imagine what could have happened. It's only natural. But there's something I know. It didn't happen. 'What if' scenarios don't count. But if you live in fear for the rest of your life, then he has won." Zoey looked her straight in the eyes. "Think of your friends, family and pokémon. They like you the way you are. And they will help you, no matter what happens. So don't change because of something that didn't even happen."

"You're absolutely right. It reminds me a bit of the things I told Eevee when he was afraid to battle." Dawn sighed and put on a real smile. "Thank you, Zoey. I'm lucky to have a friend like you."

"That's what friends are for. Everybody needs a bit help from time to time." Zoey waved it off. "But we should get some sleep now. It was a hard day for all of us and it's getting really cold."

"So true." Dawn shivered. "Good night!"

"Good night!" her rival replied.

While trying to sleep, Dawn remembered the time when she lost in the appeal round twice. Ash felt really bad for her. Everyone did. But they all helped her to get better again. Maybe you can't compare those two things but she was determined to stay strong nonetheless.


	10. Chapter 10

**This one is a bit shorter than the previous chapters. Not as much action, but more information. And another character gets to be the star this time (even though I don't really like that certain character).**

**Disclaimer: I don't own Pokémon or its characters.**

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><p><span>Chapter 10: A Fight for Ghosts<span>

It was time for Espeon's final test. She had already proven that she could teleport over short distances flawlessly, but now she had to show that she could get to locations far away. So they decided to let her teleport to Slateport City and back. To make things even more difficult, she had to take Dawn with her.

"Don't worry, I trust you completely," she reassured her pokémon.

Espeon gulped and used teleport. Kenny and Zoey waited for them to appear again but nothing happened for a while. Just when Kenny wanted to get to Slateport City himself with Alakazam, Espeon and Dawn appeared about one meter above their original position. After a hard landing, her friends noticed that they were soaking wet.

"Don't say it. It seems her memories of the bay were stronger than those of the city itself." Dawn made a face.

They burst out into laughter. Dawn glared at them at first, but soon joined in.

"It's good to see you laughing again," Kenny said.

Espeon on the other hand was ashamed of herself so Dawn tried to console her.

"Don't feel bad about it. In the end it was kind of funny and we will train a bit more until you are ready." Then she turned to the others. "We should take a break now."

They were currently on Mt. Pyre. Since there were supposed to be ghost types there, they wanted to have a look before they went to Lilycove City. Dawn was eating some rice balls she made herself, which weren't bad but also not nearly as good as Brock's, when she heard the strange noise again, that she already heard in Fortree City. This time, however, it was clearer. It nearly sounded like a female voice, but she couldn't understand what it was saying. The only word she understood was 'hear'. It stopped after a while.

"Dawn?" Kenny suddenly spoke up.

"Huh? What is it?" When he spoke like that, it was usually about something serious.

"Do you remember when you heard that noise in Fortree City?" he asked.

"Yeah, why?" Of course she remembered.

"I just heard something similar, although it sounded more like a voice," he explained.

"Now that's strange." It didn't sound like a coincidence to her. "I just heard some kind of female voice talking to me. Zoey, did you hear something too?"

"No, nothing." She shook her head.

"What could it be?" Kenny pondered.

They thought about it for a while until Zoey had an idea.

"You say, those sounded like voices? Where are Espeon and Alakazam?" she asked them.

"I don't know, they ran off somewhere," Dawn mumbled. "Let's look for them."

Soon they found the two pokémon relaxing behind some rocks.

"I'll be blunt. Are you two trying to learn telepathy?" Zoey asked them.

They looked at each other in surprise. They certainly didn't expect that. After exchanging a few words they nodded.

"So it was your voices in our heads. Why didn't you tell us?" Dawn asked as she kneeled down.

"Maybe they should explain it to you once they have mastered it?" Zoey suggested.

"That's fine with me, I can wait," Kenny replied.

"Same here," Dawn agreed before she let out a lout squeal.

"What's wrong?" Kenny asked, looking around. She pointed at a vulpix in the distance

"Oh, it's so cute. Just look at that beautiful hair." Her friends sighed. Same old Dawn. "I'm going to catch it. Piplup, let's go."

"Luup!" he exclaimed.

When he approached, Vulpix shot a will-o-wisp at him, which he dodged easily.

"Bubble beam!" Vulpix dodged that attack and countered with a fire spin. The attack hit the ground behind Piplup, who ducked before it could hit him. It created a vortex of flames at that position.

Now Vuplix used quick attack to push Piplup into the vortex but the penguin pokémon dodged that attack as well. As a result, Vuplix itself fell into the vortex. The fire didn't damage it though. Instead, it activated its flash fire ability, making it glow in a red light and boosting the next flamethrower.

"Spin and use hydro pump!" Piplup evaded the attack and followed up with hydro pump.

The fire spin not only boosted vulpix power but it also trapped it so it couldn't dodge the attack this time. The attack hit it directly, knocking out the fox pokémon.

Dawn threw her pokéball at it and it didn't take long until it was captured.

"Yes! I captured a vulpix!" she exclaimed.

"Pipluup!" her pokémon cried proudly, puffing out his chest.

"Great. But I still haven't seen a single ghost type here," Kenny mumbled. "I mean, that's what we came for, didn't we?"

"Maybe they only come out at night? You can try it again at the stroke of midnight." Zoey mocked him.

"Very funny. I think I'll just continue my training," he said with a sigh.

Since there was nothing better to do, the girls joined him.

Later that afternoon, just when they were about to go back, they saw a shuppet coming towards them.

"Finally! Now I can…" Kenny started but he stopped when he saw two houndour chasing the ghost type. "Hey, leave it alone. Empoleon, it's your turn. Use hydro pump."

The massive stream of water knocked out the surprised houndour. Shuppet went to Kenny and started to circle him.

"This is strange. There shouldn't be any houndour here," Zoey said. "Let's ask shuppet."

She called out Gallade again. Shuppet stopped to tell Gallade about something.

"It seems those belong to poachers hunting for ghost types," she told the others.

Dawn immediately paled at the mention of more poachers.

"Shuppet asks whether we could free its friends," she added.

"Sure." He turned to Shuppet. "Show us the way, we'll help you."

It was hard to keep up with it due to the rocky terrain but luckily it was perfect for hiding. Soon they saw a small camp in the distance. There were three men and several cages filled with lots of shuppet and duskull. They were guarded by houndours, a houndoom and a kadabra.

"So many of them." Kenny looked at all the imprisoned pokémon. "No wonder we didn't see a single ghost type until Shuppet came along."

"We can't risk attacking them. There are too many," Zoey stated.

"Yes, but there must be something we can do," He said. "I'll call the police first."

After he was done, they wanted to decide on what to next.

"We…" Zoey started.

"Rock blast!" The order surprised everyone, including the poachers in the camp.

Several powerful rocks flew into the camp, knocked out the kadabra and destroyed the cages. The captured ghost types flew towards the coordinators. The attack came from a golem, controlled by another trio of black clad men. Those, however, had a red 'R' on their shirt.

"This is our territory! Go back to Sinnoh," one of them yelled.

"We don't take orders from the likes of Team Rocket. Get them!" He turned to group of houndour. "You there, don't let our goods escape."

No less than eight houndour followed them. When they started to catch up, there were Empoleon, Piplup and Gastrodon waiting for them. With a combined hydro pump they took out most of the houndour and forced the rest to give up the chase.

Now that the ghost pokémon were safe, there was no reason to stay any longer. They quickly left Mt. Pyre by using teleport. When they were finally back at Route 121, they noticed that Shuppet was still with them.

"Did someone teleport it along with us?" Zoey asked the pokémon.

"He … wants … to … join … you …" Kenny heard the voice in his head again,

"Alakazam, did you just say that?" The pokémon nodded.

"Say what?" Zoey and Dawn asked.

"Alakazam told me that Shuppet wants to join me," Kenny said, scratching his head.

"Well, what are you waiting for?" they asked him.

He took out an empty pokéball. Before he could say anything, Shuppet had already pushed the button, capturing itself.

"Looks like someone really couldn't wait," he said with a grin.

"Can you blame it? After all it was you who saved it from those houndour," Zoey said. "I just hope the police get there in time. They better arrest those Team Rocket guys as well."

"Yeah, so shall we go to Lilycove City now?" Dawn asked.

"Yes, there's nothing we can do here." Kenny also had enough of poachers and thieves.

When they arrived, they were stopped by a policeman.

"You there. Do you come from Mt. Pyre or have you heard something about it?" he asked them.

"Actually we called the police after we saw poachers there," Zoey answered.

"That was you?" He took out a phone and called someone. "I've found them, you can stop looking now." He turned back to them. "We were worried, when no one but the criminals was there. Please, come with me."

They were a bit nervous but they followed him into a police station, where they went into a small room.

"First we'd like to thank you for the call. We managed to capture three poachers and a Team Rocket grunt. Unfortunately two of them managed to escape. Mt. Pyre has become a pretty dangerous place in the last few months and we are simply too few to keep it safe." He sighed. "Did you hear or see anything interesting?"

"Well, they fought each other and the Rocket guys told the others to go back to Sinnoh," Kenny told him.

"Interesting. That only confirms that they belong to a new group of pokémon criminals from Sinnoh. At least that's where most of their equipment comes from. Of course, Team Rocket doesn't like competition, especially since they're pretty new in Hoenn themselves so there's been a lot of fighting between them lately," he explained. "Was there anything else?"

"No, we fled as soon as the imprisoned pokémon were safe," Dawn said.

"A wise decision. Another thing, weren't you the kids who got Sid the Sinister Spider arrested?" he asked.

"Was that a poacher with a lot of ariados who was hunting absol?" Kenny guessed.

"Yeah, that's him. I'm sure you saw why he had that title. He's a thief, rapist and murderer. I don't think he'll get out of prison ever again." These news made Dawn and Zoey feel a bit more comfortable. "But I have to warn you. Those guys probably know it as well. If you aren't careful you might become their next target. Try to keep a low profile and they might forget about you. But I still haven't told why I took you here in the first place. There's someone who wants to talk to you. Someone important."

"Okay, where?" they asked.

"I don't know." He took something out of a pocket. "Take this key. He deposited something at the nearest bank. There you will find instructions on how to meet him."

"Why so complicated?" Zoey was a bit suspicious. "Couldn't he just come here and talk to us like a normal person?"

"I'm afraid not. If someone saw you talking to him, it would put you in danger. So don't talk to anyone about this. He will also have a reward for your services." He stood up. "I'm afraid I have to return to my regular duties. Please be careful."

They were confused but decided to go to the bank anyway. There they found three tickets for a voyage from Mossdeep City to Slateport City in three weeks. Since they planned to compete in a contest there anyway, they agreed on deciding later.

When Dawn went to sleep, she heard that voice again.

"Good … night … sweet … dreams …" it said.

Dawn smiled at Espeon. She still didn't know why her pokémon decided to do this but she was looking forward to speaking with her pokémon.

"You too, Espeon. Sweet dreams," she answered.

Little did she know, Zoey had planned a little surprise for her.

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><p><strong>This ends that little sub-plot for now. The next chapters will be about contests and maybe more. They will see another rival again.<strong>


	11. Chapter 11

**Thanks everyone for the reviews so far.**

**FrostyShake01****: That's right. The Aqua Ribbon counts in every region. That's why coordinators from all the regions come to participate.**

**Disclaimer: I don't own Pokémon or its characters.**

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><p><span>Chapter 11: A Test of Strength<span>

"Get up, Dawn! There is someone who wants to talk to you," Zoey shouted.

"What? I can't! My hair isn't done yet. I haven't even showered!" she protested.

"No excuses! You're coming with me," Zoey grabbed her arm, taking her along.

She dragged her to the video phone despite the heavy resistance. Dawn's eyes widened when she saw just who was waiting for her: Ash. She turned around to yell at Zoey but she was already gone.

_Great! I can't just run away from Ash, what would he think? Zoey is much more insidious than I thought._

"Hey, Dawn. Is everything alright?" he asked with a concerned look.

"Everything's fine." She waved it off. "I'm glad to see you, but why did you call?"

"It was Zoey's idea. She called me because she thought you needed someone to talk to. Is there something bothering you?" he asked again.

"No, there's nothing like that. No need to worry. By the way, where's Pikachu?" She tried to change the subject.

"He's still sleeping," he just said. "Dawn, I can tell there's something wrong. Zoey wouldn't have done that if everything was alright."

"Okay, I guess it wouldn't be fair after the trouble she went through." Dawn sighed in defeat. "I will tell you, but please don't interrupt me. I'll tell you when I'm finished."

"No problem." He was really curious now. And worried.

"Here we go." So she told him about the troubling encounter with Sid. Even though she left out some details it was still a nasty story and his face reflected it. Since she didn't want him to worry too much, she didn't tell him about the converstaion with the policeman. When she was done, she had tears in her eyes. But she didn't want him to see it so she lowered her head.

"Please look at me," she heard him say.

"Why?" She just asked.

"Please." She couldn't say no to that. His eyes were full of compassion.

"I probably can't understand what went through you head at that time. But nothing actually happened, right? So smile again. He was a bastard and got what he deserved. And he will never bother you again." He gave her an encouraging smile.

"Thank you for listening to me. It felt really good talking about it. I appreciate you help," she replied with an honest smile.

It was true. Maybe he didn't give her a speech as encouraging as the one by Zoey, but just knowing that he knows, that he feels her pain, that he doesn't judge her made her feel more comfortable. She only got that feeling from him.

Ash on the other hand was calm on the outside but he was angry, really angry. How anyone could do this to girls was beyond him but it made him furious. Still he didn't want to show her that side of him.

"Anytime. Oh by the way, did you forget to do your hair today?" he asked with a grin.

"Zoey dragged me here before I had a chance," she told him with a sigh.

"Don't worry. You still look good." He still didn't fully understand why it was such a big deal to her.

"Thank you, Ash. But I would still be a lot more comfortable with it done. I should go now." It wasn't like she didn't want to talk to him but she didn't want him to see her like that any longer.

"Okay, okay. Remember, you can call me if there's something you wish to talk about."

"Thank you again. I appreciate it. But I really have to prepare myself for the day now. Bye," she said.

"I won't stop you. Bye." Ash was worried when they hung up. It made him feel uneasy that such things could happen to Dawn without him being there to protect her.

Dawn was relieved. Now she could pay Zoey back for everything she did.

"Very interesting," a nearby hidden person mumbled.

"Zoey! I'll get you for this!" Dawn screamed as she entered her room and found Zoey on her own bead.

"So how was it?" Zoey just ignored the threat.

"Well, he was a good listener. I feel better now, so thank you for that. Even though you shouldn't have dragged me out of the bed like that," she added.

"Aw, you didn't confess?" her friend asked.

"No, I didn't. I … Wait, what? Why should I confess?" Dawn asked with slight panic in her voice.

"Oh come on. It's obvious that you like him. Although I didn't know whether you know it yourself," Zoey said. "Until now."

"I … He … Fine! I have a crush on him. But I'll kill you if you tell anyone! Especially him," Dawn shouted.

"Don't worry. Your secret is safe," Zoey reassured her.

"You still have to make up for what you did. After a shower, you'll help me with my hair. No excuses!" She took her towel and went into the bathroom.

"No wonder she was so excited about the Wallace Cup," Zoey mumbled.

They spent the rest of the morning chatting and training for the contest.

Shortly before dinner, Kenny dragged Zoey into a small room.

"What was that for? Why did you do it?" he asked her.

"What do you mean?" Zoey feigned ignorance.

"I mean that call. Why did you call Ash?" His voice was getting louder.

"I don't understand what it has to do with you. Dawn needed someone to talk to and I told him. Now she feels better. What's wrong with that?" she replied.

"Then you should have told one of her current traveling companions, not some random guy in some far away region," he retorted. "She should have talked to me."

"You've had your chance," Zoey countered. "Besides, Ash is no random guy. They're good friends. You of all the people should know that."

"What are you implying?" he growled.

"I'm implying that you are jealous," she stated.

"And you think that he's better for her? That I'm not good enough?" Kenny asked, pointing at himself.

"I'm not saying that," Zoey made clear. "I'm saying that she has a much stronger bond with Ash. And I doubt that you will be able to break it. You can try to win her heart all you want. But in the end, it will probably only bring you pain."

"Well, why isn't she with him right now? Why is she travelling with me instead?" He was getting louder.

"Is she really travelling with you?" She sighed."Or are you travelling with her?"

"I … That's enough. You've done it now. I'm going." He gave her one last angry look before he left.

They didn't see each other until it was time for the Lilycove contest.

This time, Dawn decided to make an appeal that you couldn't only look at, but also smell. And Gloom was the perfect pokémon for that task. When she went backstage with Zoey and Kenny, they found someone they haven't seen for a long time.

"Ursula!" Dawn exclaimed.

"The girl with the plusle and minun," Kenny mumbled.

"Well, well. If it isn't Dee Dee, Zoey and … their friend," Ursula replied.

"My name is Kenny!" he yelled.

"Whatever." She was surprised at his reaction. "You don't have a chance anyway."

"What makes you so sure? You haven't won against Dawn a single time," Zoey pointed out.

"I've gotten a lot stronger since our last encounter. I'll show you true power," Ursula told them. "So how many ribbons do you have? I already have two."

"I also have two," Dawn just said.

"Oh well, I'll have three by tomorrow. Good luck to you. You'll need it," she said and walked off.

"What's wrong with her? I wonder why she hates Dawn so much. She didn't even ask about our ribbons," Kenny mumbled angrily.

"She hates losing, that's probably it," Zoey stated, shaking her head. "She hasn't changed one bit. Don't underestimate her though. I have a feeling that she isn't bluffing."

After a while it was time for Dawn's appeal.

"Gloom! Spotlight!" Gloom appeared in a shower of pink flowers. Some people already wrinkled their noses.

"Show them your most beautiful petal dance!" Gloom danced with an elegance no one would expect from a pokémon like that, with the flower on her head releasing pink petals. While Gloom was dancing they formed a whirlwind above her.

"Now use sweet scent!" Without stopping the dance she sprayed something at the petals. Then she intensified the dance, spinning faster and faster.

"Energy ball!" Still spinning, she shot an energy ball into the cloud of petals, resulting into a forceful explosion which spread the petals in the whole contest hall. Due to the exposure to the sweet scent they filled it with a sweet fragrance.

The judges pointed out the irony, that a pokémon that was known as one the greatest stinkers in the world made such an appeal.

The next one was Ursula.

"Go, Garchomp." Everyone stared at the powerful dragon type.

_So her gabite evolved_, Dawn, Zoey and Kenny thought at the same time.

"Swords dance!" Garchomps claws started to glow in a white light, which only intensified with time. One could only guess what power its next attacks would have.

"Show them your true power! Dragon claw, full strength!" It slammed its claw into the ground, creating an earthquake which shook the whole contest hall. When it was over, there was a star-shaped crack in the ground.

Garchomp was complimented on its power, which made a dragon claw look like an earthquake. The hall probably wouldn't stand anymore if it made a real earthquake move.

Finally, it was Kenny's turn.

"Breloom. Show them our power!" he shouted.

"Use stone edge! A lot of rocks circled the pokémon, then flew high in the air. When they were high enough, Breloom finally shot them at itself.

"Mach punch!" With incredible speed and precision it crushed all the incoming rocks. Encouraged by the success, Kenny decided to go a bit further. "I have to impress her. I won't give up so easily, Zoey."

"Now the same with rock slide!" At first everything seemed alright, but as Breloom got more exhausted its movements became slower. When one rock went past its punches and hit it in the stomach, it completely lost it and was buried by a pile of rocks.

"Breloom! No!" Even though it wasn't hurt badly, the appeal was destroyed, so he went off with a sad face.

"I failed … ," he whispered.

"I'm sorry about your loss," Dawn told him backstage.

"It's okay. I'll just win next time." He sighed. Although she was sad for him he felt that it wasn't the kind of sad he wanted. She was just being her friendly, kind self. Still, he didn't want to give up yet.

When the participants of the battle round were shown, Ursula and Dawn were among them and they faced each other right away.

"Gloom! Spotlight!" Dawn shouted.

"Garchomp, show them who's boss here," Ursula yelled.

"Start with energy ball!" The green ball flew at Garchomp, who easily deflected it with its claws.

"Hmph, just as weak as its trainer." Now there was something malicious in her look."But what can you expect from someone who can't even defend herself against a petty poacher?"

"What was that? How do you know?" Dawn gasped.

"Oh, I listened to your talk on the videophone. He touched me. Oh please, rescue me Ash." Ursula imitated Dawn's voice. "How does it feel to be too weak to prevent others from molesting you? To be touched at inappropriate places? Maybe he should have finished. Maybe then you would have learned something."

"How dare you? I will crush you!" Dawn was beyond angry now. Nobody has ever provoked like that.

"You couldn't even crush an ant," Ursula just retorted.

"That's it! Gloom, use petal dance, full power!" Dawn cried.

"Pathetic! Dragon rush and then dragon claw!" With incredible speed Garchomp flew right through the cloud of petals, tackled Gloom and smashed her into the ground.

"Gloom! No!" Dawn rushed to her pokémon who was knocked out by the attacks.

"Gloom is unable to battle. The winners are Ursula and Garchomp," the MC announced.

"Just as I thought. A worthless pokémon for a worthless coordinator." Ursula mocked her as she recalled her pokémon and ran off the stage.

"How can she say something like that? Why does she hate me so much?" Dawn asked herself. Tears were streaming down her face. Never before has she felt that bad about a loss.

"What has gotten into you?" She turned around. Zoey was standing there and she didn't seem to be happy at all.

"Do you have any idea what she said to me?" Dawn asked rudely.

"No, but you can't get provoked like that. You should have known that Gloom has no chance in a direct combat against Garchomp," Zoey replied calmly.

"I wanted to defeat her so badly," Dawn growled.

"You weren't strong enough for that," Dawn's eyes widened.

"So basically you're saying that I'm weak?" she asked.

"What? No, I just … ." But Dawn wouldn't listen now.

"You said it. You said I wasn't strong enough," she repeated, raising her voice.

"Dawn, listen! I …," Zoey started.

"Leave me alone!" Dawn screamed at the shocked Zoey. Never before has she seen Dawn losing her temper like that. Just when she was about to answer, her friend ran off.

Soon Dawn felt bad about yelling at her friend. But she was too ashamed to face her yet, so she went to a remote spot at the beach after healing her pokémon. There she could think about everything that happened, everything that went wrong. Piplup was trying to console her but it was futile. After a while, Gloom came out of her pokéball.

"Gloom! Gloom! Gloooom!" she shouted. Dawn decided to look whether Espeon's telepathy has improved yet.

"Espeon, come on out." Her pokémon looked in confusion at the scene. "Can you please tell me what Gloom is telling me?"

Gloom repeated what she said earlier. Espeon closed her eyes and the gem on her forehead started to glow. Dawn heard that voice again.

"She … wants to become stronger … to evolve," it said.

"You know, you can evolve into either vileplum or bellossom. Which one do you want?" Dawn asked.

"She wants … to become Bellossom … because she likes … to dance." The blunette smiled. Gloom really looked happy when she did that appeal.

"Alright! Then I'll get the right stone for you." She never thought about Gloom taking the loss that badly. It just showed how angry she was. "You should return to you pokéball and rest. It was a hard day for you."

After returning Gloom, she turned to Espeon.

"Can you tell me now why you learned telepathy?" she asked.

"For you." Espeon told her. "You … wanted to understand your pokémon so badly. It … was Alakazam's idea. Besides, conversations … are much more interesting … that way."

Dawn didn't know what to say. She was really moved by her pokémon's initiative.

"Thank you, Espeon. That really means a lot to me," she said as she took Espeon in her arms."I think we should go now. Wait! I've got an idea."

In the evening Dawn finally returned to the pokémon center, carrying two very big bags. Zoey was already waiting for her in the entrance hall.

"There you are," she said. "But what's in the bags?"

"I'm sorry for getting angry like that," Dawn apologized. "I feel really bad about it."

"It's okay. Everyone has those moments." Zoey waved it off.

"No, it shouldn't have happened. So please accept these snacks." She held up one of the bags.

"You bought so much? We can't possibly eat all that," Zoey replied. "At least not in one night. But I guess, it could make the next voyage a bit better." She grinned.

"By the way, where's Kenny?" Dawn asked.

"He has already gone to bed because he's sad about his loss," Zoey told her. "But there's one thing I'd like to know. What did Ursula say to make you that mad? You don't have to answer if …"

"No, it's alright. You deserve to know." She sighed. "Ursula eavesdropped on my conversation with Ash. And she used that knowledge to provoke me."

"Are you talking about me?" They turned around. Ursula was standing there with a smug look on her face. "Have you finally realized that I am the better coordinator?"

Before Dawn could reply, Zoey spoke up.

"You're wrong. She is a much better coordinator than you will ever be." Now Ursula was angry.

"What? Then why did I win? Why did she lose like that?" she retorted.

"Because you used a cheap trick and your pokémon was more experienced. Besides, apart from that sandstorm-scary-face I haven't seen a single extraordinary combination from you. Maybe you should do gym battles instead." Dawn was surprised to say the least. Zoey never hesitated to criticize someone. It was her way of showing that she cared and supported them. She was also quick to stand up for a friend. But Dawn has never seen her like this.

"How dare you," Ursula hissed.

"You should have looked at the audience. Then you would have seen how disappointed they were. Knocking out the opponent's pokémon with two hits can hardly be called a contest battle," Zoey said.

"You want contest battles? I'll give you contest battles. Where is your next contest? In Sootopolis City?" Zoey nodded. "Alright, I'll meet you there. And I will crush you." She walked off after that.

"It seems now you're one of her enemies as well," Dawn remarked.

"Let's not talk about her anymore." She changed the subject. "Did you get those at the department store?"

"Yes, I also tried to get a sun stone for Gloom. She said that she wanted to become Bellossom. But I only found a dawn stone. I bought it anyway because it could be useful in the future," Dawn explained.

"How fitting. And what's in the other bag?" Zoey asked.

"That's a skitty sleepbag. I bought it for May's birthday," her friend replied.

"Already? You know that's in about three months," Zoey said, shaking her head.

"It was the last one and it wasn't too expensive. I just have to fill it with some food and it will be the perfect gift for May," Dawn told her.

"I understand." Zoey still thought that it was too early, but she didn't want another argument right now.

They spent the rest of the evening chatting and consuming the snacks. The next morning they took a ferry to Sootopolis City where their next contest would be held.


	12. Chapter 12

**Creating three appeals in one chapter is a real pain. And so is describing double battles. It's not as difficult as finding a proper title though.**

**A lot of Pokémon may have moves I haven't mentioned yet. They have learnt those during their training. I won't announce every single move a Pokémon learns.**

**Here is the first gym battle in my story.**

**Disclaimer: I don't own Pokémon or its characters.**

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><p><span>Chapter 12: Beauty or Power<span>

Dawn, Kenny and Zoey had heard stories about Sootopolis City but they were still amazed by its beauty. Of course they wouldn't expect any less from Wallace's home city. Unfortunately, they didn't have a lot of time to admire the city due to the contest. The contest hall had a giant pool so water types were recommended.

Dawn, however, wanted to enter it with Mamoswine. She was determined to show that she's also strong and that she could put up a fight against Garchomp. Zoey chose Mismagius for the contest while Kenny decided not to enter it at all. Instead, he wanted to use the time for training.

Time went by quickly. Now it was time for their appeals. After some great performances it was Ursula's turn. To everyone's surprise she didn't use Garchomp.

"Vaporeon, showtime!" They remembered that pokémon. It was one of those Ursula used in her grand festival appeal. However, they haven't seen it in battle yet.

"Use whirlpool!" Her pokémon created a small whirlpool and placed it on the water next to it.

"Now shadow ball!" Vaporeon shot a shadow into the whirlpool, trapping it inside. This was the reason why it was so small. Nobody would see the shadow ball if it was inside a bigger whirlpool. Now it was starting to turn blue.

"Ice beam!" The shadow ball absorbed the small beam, now glowing in a white light.

"And hidden power!" Once again the shadow ball absorbed the attack. This time, however, it didn't just glow in one color but it looked like a rainbow in a ball. When the whirlpool subsided, Vaporeon took the ball, balancing it on the end of its tail.

"Time for the grand final. Use iron tail!" The force of the iron tail sent the ball high in the air where it exploded in a bright, multicolored flash.

Her rivals were truly impressed by the appeal. There was no doubt in their mind that she just made it to the battle round.

Dawn was up next.

"Mamoswine! Spotlight!" The twin tusk pokémon materialzed in front of her.

"Use hail!" Mamoswine stomped on the ground and created a snow storm at his location.

"Now blizzard!" The blizzard easily froze the whole pool.

"Break the ice! Earthquake!" The tremendous power first cracked the ice then smashed it into smaller bits until there were only tiny pieces left. Mamoswine tried not to damage the stage itself which only took some minor cracks. When the hail ended, the ice quickly melted, returning the pool to its original state.

Dawn actually didn't like this kind of appeal. It was too rough for her. It wasn't her style. But she wanted to try out each one. Finally it was time to watch Zoey's appeal.

"Mismagius! Curtain!" Her pokémon appeared in a shadowy cloud.

"Start with magical leaf!" To everyone's surprise they didn't do anything but fall into the pool.

"Psychic!" Slowly a big globe of water rose from the pool, its surface covered by the magical leaves. Even though it seemed like the globe was rotating it was in fact just the leaves floating around.

"Time for the great show! Use hidden power and psybeam." The attacks merged with the water, making it glow in a white light. Due to the leaves only a part of it reached the audience but that only added to its beauty as it looked like a disco ball now.

After a while the glow subsided and the leaves disappeared. After the globe was lowered into the water again the crowd cheered loudly.

"That was incredible!" Dawn cried. "One of the best appeals I've ever seen."

"It was impressive, even I must admit," Ursula said. "Even though a bit similar to my appeal."

"Psst, the results are coming," Zoey told them.

When the results came, Dawn couldn't find her face among the others. Zoey and Ursula on the other hand passed this round. Dawn let out a sigh of disappointment.

"I thought I could make it. Apparently I was wrong." Moreover, she felt bad for Mamoswine who made his first appeal and failed.

"Don't be sad." Zoey tried to console her. "It wasn't your style. Beauty and elegance are your strength." But she just shook her head.

"You don't understand. I have to do this for myself. If I can't be strong, I'll never become a top coordinator," she explained. "I have decided. I'm going to challenge the Sootopolis Gym."

"You of all the people are going to challenge a gym?" Ursula exclaimed. "And I thought you would have learned your lesson by now."

"Dawn, you know that gym battles are completely different from contest battles?" Zoey asked.

"I do." She simply replied. "I've already challenged a gym once, even though that was to restore the self-confidence of the gym leader. It was exciting and I wanted to do it again someday. You can't stop me."

"Whatever. Don't expect me to watch it though. I won't waste my time," Ursula told her.

"Why should I ask you? You'd only cheer the gym leader on," Dawn said.

"That's enough." Zoey shouted. "We have to finish that contest first."

After several battles Zoey and Ursula met in the semi-finals.

"Mismagius! Curtain!" Zoey shouted.

"Vaporeon! Showtime!" Ursula yelled.

"Jump into the pool!" Ursula made the first move. When her pokémon made contact with the water, it became nearly invisible.

"Bad mistake. Use thunder!" The electric attack hit the pool, shocking everything in it, including Vaporeon.

"Dammit! Get out of there and use water gun!" Vaporeon jumped out of the pool and fired a stream of water at the ghost type.

"Use the leaf shield!" Mismagius released magical leaves and controlled them with psychic so that they would block the water move. After that it fired them at the surprised Vaporeon. It was hit hard but could continue.

"Don't think that's all! Use ice beam!" Ursula ordered her pokémon.

"Double team!" The ice move only hit a copy of Mismagius.

"Let's hit all of them at once! Use blizzard!" The powerful storm of ice flew towards the many mismagius floating above the pool. It immediately cancelled the double team move.

"That's what I was hoping for! Ominous wind!" The force of that move sent back the blizzard right at Vaporeon, freezing it solid.

"Time for will-o-wisp!" It melted the ice and inflicted burn on its opponent. Ursula looked at the display. Zoey had a lot more points.

"I have to do something. Use haze!" Her voice became more desperate. Vaporeon released black smoke which covered the battle field.

"Use ominous wind once more!" The move blew the smoke away, damaging Vaporeon even more in the process.

"Let's finish this! Imprison it with psychic!" Similar to its appeal, a globe of water rose from the pool, this time, however, it engulfed Vaporeon.

"Thunder!" The powerful electric attack illuminated the hall when it hit the globe. After it was done, the globe dissolved, revealing a fainted pokémon.

"No! Vapoeron!" Ursula ran to her pokémon and took it in her arms. "You did your best. We'll train harder next time."

"A good battle." Zoey said as she walked next to her, extending her hand. "I hope you learned a thing or two."

"Hmph. You only won because you had the more experienced pokémon. Next time we'll defeat you," she replied and walked off, refusing to shake hands.

The final fight was no problem for Zoey so she was presented the Sootopolis Ribbon.

"That was awesome. Congratulations!" Dawn said when they met backstage.

"Thank you. But do you really wish to challenge the gym?" she asked. "It's a pretty tough one."

"Absolutely. Even if I don't win, it will be a valuable experience. Maybe I will do that more often in time or even compete in a league," she added with a laugh.

"Are you serious?" They turned around to see Kenny coming towards them. He just returned from his training to look at the results of the contest. But he didn't care about that right now. "You would lose against your first opponent."

"Okay, now you made me really consider that. But becoming a top coordinator still has top priority," she replied.

"Alright, it's your decision. Can we go with you and watch the battle?" Zoey asked her.

"Sure, why not?" Dawn definitely didn't mind some company.

Zoey was curious about how Dawn would handle a gym battle. Kenny on the other hand preferred to train instead.

"I'll continue my training. There's still a lot I have to do," he told them.

"Alright, we'll see you later," the girls answered.

When they arrived there, they were greeted by the assistant.

"Yes? How may I help you?" he asked them.

"I'd like to challenge the gym leader," Dawn replied.

"Please follow me." He led them to a large swimming pool. There he was standing, Juan, the gym leader of Sootopolis City.

"Master Juan, a challenger is awaiting you." The assistant said with a bow.

"Thank you, Sebastian. Welcome, young friends. So who is my opponent today?" Juan asked.

"I am." Dawn took a step forward.

"So you are doing gym battles as well, Dawn?" She was surprised as she didn't recall telling him her name.

"How do you know my name?" she asked.

"I know every winner of a Wallace Cup. As you may know, Wallace was my student. We should have a nice little chat later. But I'm sure you can't wait to battle right now. Let's not waste any more time." He went to the other side of the pool.

"These are the rules. It will be a five on five battle. The first part will consist of a double battle, the second part will follow the usual rules. Only the challenger is allowed to substitute pokémon. Battle begin!" Sebastian announced.

"Sealeo, Whiscash. Time to battle." His pokémon appeared next to the pool.

"Pachirisu. Come on out! Piplup, it's your turn." Her pokémon weren't surprised about the gym battle at all. They knew that she had planned this since her loss at the Lilycove contest.

"Ladies first," Juan said.

"Use thunderbolt!" Dawn commanded.

"Whiscash! Block it!" The pokémon shielded Sealeo from the attack which had no effect on it.

"Oh right, Whiscash is also ground type." Dawn remembered some things she read in her book.

"Whiscash, use surf! Sealeo, ice ball!" A big wave with Whiscash on top of it came towards Dawn's pokémon.

"Pachirrisu, use iron tail!" The elesquirrel pokémon split the wave only to be hit by an ice ball which was right behind it while Whiscash hit Piplup with rock smash. The whiskers pokémon swam back to Sealeo right after that.

"That's not good. Ice ball becomes stronger after every use," Dawn mumbled. "We have to take the fight to them. Piplup, swim to the other end. Pachirisu, get on his back." The pokémon did as they were told although they weren't quite sure whether this was a good idea.

"Time for another ice ball!" Whiscash jumped up high before Sealeo shot an ice ball at the duo. Dawn felt that, despite its power, the ice ball was merely a distraction.

"Pachirisu shoot it at Whiscash with iron tail! Piplup, use bubble beam on Sealeo!" The ice ball caused Whiscash to lose its concentration, firing its hyper beam at the ceiling while Sealeo was hit by a flurry of bubbles.

"Now thunderbold and spark!" Without its ally to protect it, Sealeo got hurt badly by the thunderbolt and was finished off by the spark attack.

"Sealeo is unable to battle." Sebastian shouted.

"I'm surprised that you weren't fooled by my little trick, but it takes more to defeat me," Juan told her.

Suddenly another hyper beam hit Piplup from behind. He took some major damaga but could still continue.

"It's vulnerable! Use swift and drill peck!" As it had to recharge, Whiscash could only watch the two attacks. It was too much for it so it fainted.

"Whiscash is unable to battle. This is the end of the double battle. Please follow me to the next stage." Sebastian led them to another larger pool with two high platforms on each. Dawn and Juan each took their position on one of them. "Battle, begin!"

"Mamoswine, it's your turn!" Mamoswine appeared at the edge of the pool.

"Go, Tentacruel!" The pokémon quickly jumped out of the water when it saw, what Mamoswine was about to do.

"Freeze the pool with blizzard!" Just like in the appeal, Mamoswine turned the water to ice. This time, it only froze the surface though.

"Use rain dance!" Tentacruel spinned until a rain cloud appeared above the pool. "Now hydro pump!"

"Dodge it and use earthquake!" Mamoswine got out of the way of the attack before countering with a powerful earthquake, which was also dodged.

"Close the distance and use hydro pump again." Dawn knew that Mamoswine couldn't hope to dodge an attack like that from a short distance so she decided to counter it with another attack.

"Use earthquake until it's down!" Both pokémon used move after move on each other until Tentacruel finally collapsed. Dawn didn't have time to cheer though since her pokémon fainted right after due to the damage taken.

"Tentacruel and Mamoswine are unable to battle." Because of the earthquakes the ice shattered so there were ice floes swimming around.

"A good battle, Tentacruel. Kingdra, show them your elegance!" The cold water didn't seem to affect it in the slightest.

"Thank you, Mamoswine. Espeon, it's your turn!" The pokémon jumped on an ice floe. "Use psybeam!"

Kingdra was way faster than she thought though. It not only dodged the attack but also started to confuse Espeon with its fast movements.

"Use dragon pulse!" Kingdra fired a turquoise ball of energy from close distance.

"Teleport!" Just in time Espeon teleported to another ice floe, evading the attack. "Why is it so damn fast?" Dawn mumbled. "Of course! Swift swim. Espeon, return!" She recalled her pokémon. "Pachirisu, go for it! Use discharge and keep it up!"

Kingdra dodged it easily but it stopped the dragon pokémon from attacking. After a while, the rain stopped and it returned to its normal speed.

"Use rain dance!" Juan commanded.

"Thunder wave!" The move hit Kingdra while it was performing the rain dance, paralyzing it. Now its speed was normal despite the rain. "Well done, Pachirisu. Return! Espeon, let's finish it! Use psybeam!"

For a while it was duel between equally strong pokémon. Only when the rain stopped, did Espeon gain the upper hand. In the end she finished it with a psybeam.

"Kingdra is unable to battle," Sebstian shouted.

"You were wonderful, Kingdra. Well done, young lady. But there is still one more obstacle to overcome," He said as he sent out Milotic.

"Oh, it's so beautiful!" Dawn squealed. "But now's not the time for that. Espeon, return! Pachirisu, use thunder wave!"

The move not only paralyzed it but it also activated its marvel scale ability, boosting its defense.

"Now use thunderbolt!" But Milotic just raised its tail, which started to glow and absorbed the electric attack.

"We still have a few tricks up our sleeves. Use hydro pump!" The attack was strong enough to knock out Dawn's pokémon instantly.

"Pachirisu is unable to battle," the assistan declared.

"Thank you, Pachirisu. You were great," Dawn said as she recalled her pokémon. "Piplup, it's your turn. Use drill peck!"

"Counter it with iron tail!" Milotic tried to do it but the paralyze effect stopped it. Piplup hit it head on, doing some damage. "Try it again!" This time it worked and Milotic knocked out the penguin pokémon.

"Piplup is unable to battle." Milotic defeated the second pokémon.

"Awesome job, Piplup. Rest now. It's a lot tougher than I thought. Espeon! Come on out!" Espeon looked at her opponent. This wouldn't be easy. "Use psybeam!"

"Counter it with hydro pump!" The two attacks didn't meet but hit their targets. While Espeon could barely stand now, Milotic was still pretty well. "Finish it off with ice beam!"

"Use light screen!" Despite the shield, it was enough for Espeon to faint, leaving Dawn with one pokémon.

"Espeon is unable to battle." She was down to her last pokémon.

"Thank you, Espeon. Your efforts will not go to waste. Gyarados! It's your turn!" The pokémon roared when he was finally used for a real battle. "Use thrash!" Instead of recovering, Juan wanted Milotic to end it quickly.

"Ice beam!" The beam hit Gyarados but it did only minor damage since the light screen was still active. Once he closed the distance, he attacked Milotic with everything he had. It could do nothing but endure the attacks as it was pretty slow due to the paralyze status.

"Try to recover!" Juan shouted now, sensing the trouble his pokémon got into but the tireless assaults made that impossible. After a while Milotic finally collapsed. Gyarados roared in victory although he was really tired.

"Milotic is unable to battle. The victory goes to the challenger," Sebastian announced.

"You were wonderful, Gyarados. Take a rest now," Dawn said as she recalled her pokémon.

"Congratulations, Dawn. That was an awesome battle," Zoey told her. During the whole battle she cheered for her friend, but she didn't notice it. She was too focused on the battle itself.

"Don't feel bad, Milotic. You were formidable," Juan consoled his pokémon. Then he went to his challenger. "I must admit, I didn't think that you would defeat me. It was quite a grave mistake to underestimate you. As a symbol of your victory, please accept this rain badge."

"Thank you. Even though I don't really need it," she said.

"Is that so? Why did you challenge me then?" Juan asked, raising an eyebrow.

"She got beaten badly by a rival so she wanted to prove that she isn't weak," Zoey explained.

"I understand. If I may suggest: Why don't you try to enter a league? You certainly are capable enough," he said to her. "This wasn't your first gym battle, was it?"

"Not exactly. But my first one was a long time ago. Besides I'm a coordinator." Dawn wasn't sure though.

"So am I. And so is Wallace. But we both participate in regular battles." He looked at a nearby clock. "Oh dear, look at the time. I really have to prepare my next show. I'm sorry that we can't talk any longer. Please visit me tomorrow at my house, you two."

"Do you mean I am invited as well?" Zoey asked with a puzzled expression.

"Yes, young lady. I saw your battles at the contest. You would make a formidable trainer," he said.

"Thank you. We'll accept your offer. Right, Dawn?" Zoey was eager to talk to him. After all, he was also a top coordinator.

"Sure," Dawn answered enthusiastically.

They agreed to visit him at 10am. After watching his show, they went back to the pokémon center. Kenny was surprised that Dawn not only managed to beat Juan but was also invited to his house along with Zoey. He was a bit jealous but decided to use the time for even more training so that he would get his last ribbon at the Mossdeep contest.

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><p><strong>Dawn won't enter any league in my story. It's just a future path she might choose. The only thing I can do is letting her have one or two more gym battles. I will write it if you want me to.<strong>


	13. Chapter 13

**Another shorter chapter, but it is important for Dawn's self-confidence..**

**Disclaimer: I don't own Pokémon or its characters.**

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><p><span>Chapter 13: Beauty and Power<span>

Dawn and Zoey were standing in front of Juan's manor. A few seconds after knocking Sebastian opened the door.

"Master Juan is awaiting you. Please follow me." He led them to the living room, where Juan was currently standing in front of a window. "Sir, your visitors have arrived."

"Thank you, Sebastian. Thank you so much for coming. Please take a seat, young ladies. Would you like anything to drink?" he asked.

"No, thank you," they declined.

"Well, I'll get straight to the point. I really think you should challenge a few more gyms. The experience could prove invaluable in your contests," he said.

"But gym and contest battles are completely different. What useful thing for contests could a coordinator learn in a gym?" Zoey was still doubtful.

"Coordinators and trainers can learn a lot from each other," he explained. "I've heard trainers talk about coordinators. They often think of them as weaklings. They think that the combinations are just for show, not suitable for battle. They look at the magical leaves and all they see is an offensive move. But yesterday you showed us, that it can be used for defense, followed by a quick counter attack.  
>Many coordinators regard trainers as brutes, not intelligent enough to create beautiful combinations and thus relying on strength. They often forget that strength is important in contests as well. Even the most beautiful moves won't have the effect you're hoping for if they're not strong enough. Your pokémon will have a hard time if it doesn't have the strength to endure attacks."<p>

"That's what speed is for. Pokémon don't need to endure attacks if they can dodge them," Zoey countered.

"It always depends on your pokémon and your opponent," he said. "If yours is a lot faster you may try to dodge every attack. But what if your opponent uses moves with a wide area of effect like discharge? Or if it is even faster than your pokémon? Then you will have to take hits. And if you're pokémon isn't strong enough then your most beautiful combinations and great speed won't help you."

"But only endurance isn't good either," Dawn protested "You can't take everything the opponent is throwing at you."

"I never said you should rely solely on strength or speed. A good mix is often the best answer. But it all depends on your pokémon. Look at each of them as an individual. Do you want to improve its strengths or work on its weaknesses? You won't be able to make a pokémon perfect. However, you can use different strategies to get the best results. There are battles you won't win unless you use raw strength," he explained.  
>"I think you already understand what I'm talking about. Let's have a look at our battle. When you sent out Gyarados you didn't try any combination attack. You didn't even wait to get into a better defensive position. You just attacked Milotic with all your power. That's not very typical for a coordinator, is it?"<p>

"Uhm, yeah …," she answered a little embarrassed.

"Don't feel bad about it. In fact, it was the best thing you could do. Tell me, why didn't you wait before you ordered the attack?" Juan asked.

"Because Milotic can use recover?" Dawn answered shyly.

"A very good reason. But how did you know that Miotic wouldn't simply dodge the attack?" he asked again.

"Because of Pachirisu's thunder wave," she replied.

"And why didn't you let your pokémon dodge Milotic's attack?" He asked the final question.

"The light screen was still active and dodging would have cost too much time." Dawn said the first thing that came to her mind.

"Exactly. Because of all this, you came to the conclusion that you could only defeat Milotic with quick, brute force. And Gyarados with its impressive strength was the perfect pokémon for the task. That's the kind of thinking that makes a trainer strong. You won't have any problems to participate in both contest and gym battles like that," he reassured her.

"Yes, I think I understand what you're trying to say," Dawn said slowly.

"Your actions showed me that you understood it before. I just wanted to point it out. Nevertheless, there are things which are even more important for both trainers and coordinators: trust and love. Only when the pokémon not only fight for themselves, but also for their trainer, can they show their true potential," he told them. "But I don't need to tell you that, do I?" He looked at Dawn. "Your pokémon certainly showed me that they have faith in you."

"Really? How?" she asked curiously.

"Do you remember when you ordered Espeon to use light screen? It knew that if it didn't evade the next attack it would be finished. It could have simply teleported away," he stated. "Yet it chose to obey. It believed in your plan even though it didn't know about it. And you proved that its faith wasn't misplaced. Besides, your treatment of your pokémon shows the love I was talking about."

"Wow, I never thought about it like that. I guess I had a good mentor." She not only thought of Ash but also of Wallace who gave her hints before the Wallace Cup. "So what do you think I should do? Enter a league?"

"No, I don't think that's not necessary although it would certainly prove beneficial. Challenge gyms and trainers. Find out more about yourself and your pokémon. Work on their strengths. Form bonds with them. The rest is just careful planning, keen observation and quick thinking. I nearly forgot. There's one more thing. Don't let emotions like anger or sadness control you in battle as they will cloud your judgment, causing you to make foolish mistakes." Dawn immediately remembered her battle against Ursula in Hoenn.

"Wow, thank you for your advice," she replied.

"My pleasure! Do you happen to know anyone who does both gym and contest battles?" Juan asked.

"Yes, I do." Nando came to mind. "Do you think I should talk to him about it?"

"It might help," he stated.

"Thank you. May I ask you something?" There was something she wanted to know ever since she saw his milotic.

"Please, go ahead," he said.

"Since you have a milotic, can you give me advice on my feebas?" she asked shyly.

"There is only one advice I can give you. Use it in contests," he suggested.

"Really? But they are, you know …" Dawn was still unsure.

"Weak?" he guessed. "That may be true. You probably wouldn't win those contests. But showing off the beauty of those pokémon helps them a lot. It will hardly evolve if you always keep it hidden from other people. It might think you are ashamed of it."

"You're right." Now Dawn was ashamed for not considering that.

"They need to feel beautiful. And the best way is to perform in front of a big audience. You might not get it right the first time but don't lose heart. With enough training and care it will evolve, I'm sure of it," he encouraged her.

They spent the rest of the day talking about contests and battles. He gave them more tips on how to take care of their pokémon and even managed to convince Zoey to challenge a gym. Dawn found that rather funny considering Zoey's dislike for those who did both gym and contest battles at the beginning of her journey. They also tried to talk about the Wallace Cup but he only said that he didn't want to ruin the surprise for them.

His final advice was to get more pokémon to become less predictable, which is why he showed them a cave on their map where snorunt are supposed to live. After that they had to go due to the ferry to Mossdeep City leaving soon. Kenny was already waiting for them impatiently.

When they arrived, Kenny and Zoey began to prepare for the contest. Dawn, however, had other plans. Since she didn't want to enter the contest this time she decided to go to the cave Juan mentioned.

"Are you sure you don't want to come?" she asked her friends.

"Yes, I still have to perfect some moves," Kenny explained. "No time for other things."

"What's wrong with him?" Dawn asked after he walked off. "He's trained so much during the last days, it isn't normal."

"Who knows?" Zoey guessed that he wanted to impress Dawn but she wasn't entirely sure.

"So how about you? Do you want to come?" Dawn asked her now.

"Sorry, I really have to practice my appeal or I won't get past the first round tomorrow," Zoey declined.

"It's okay," Dawn said. "I know how important that is."

She arrived at the island, where the cave was supposed to be, by riding on Gyarados' back. It seemed that she earned his respect in the gym battle as he's been a lot more obedient ever since. The cave itself was cold, dark and a bit spooky because of various pokémon cries in the distance. Fortunately she had Quilava by her side whose flames illuminated the cave while giving off some warmth.

After not having seen a single pokémon for a while they suddenly heard the sounds of battle in front of them. Soon they found a heavily injured snorunt battling a few zubat and a big golbat.

"Hey, leave Snorunt alone. Buneary, use ice beam!" Dawn cried.

"Bun bun!" The zubat went down quickly, only the golbat managed to dodge the beam. As Buneary shot more ice beams at it, it evaded every single one with great elegance and speed. Dawn immediately knew that this pokémon would be a great addition to her team. It used poison fang on her pokémon who took a step back just in time.

"Use dizzy punch and then thunderbolt!" She hit the bat pokémon with her ears and followed up with a thunderbolt. While Golbat was struggling to get up again, Dawn threw a pokéball at it. Just when she thought that she caught it, it came out of the pokéball again and flew away.

Dawn wanted to follow it but first she had to take care of Snorunt. After she gave it some berries she called out Espeon who told her what Snorunt said to her.

"She lives in another part of the cave with the other snorunt but she came here in search of a dawn stone to evolve into froslass. Obviously the zubat weren't happy about her invading their territory."

"A dawn stone? You mean a stone like this one?" Snorunt's eyes widened and despite the pain she jumped up to take it in her hands. Immediately she glowed in a pure, white light. When the process was over she was floating above the ground as Froslass. After a brief pause she said something, floated to Dawn's bag and got herself caught by pressing the button on one of the empty pokéballs.

"She said that she's sorry about using your dawn stone like that. It seems she's looked for such a stone for months now and couldn't control herself when she finally found it. To make up for it and to thank you for rescuing her from the zubat she wants to come with you," Espeon told her. So, in the end, she didn't get a sun stone for the dawn stone but a pokémon instead.

"Wow, that sure was unexpected." Dawn took the pokéball. "I promise to take good care of you. Now to catch that golbat."

Dawn and her pokémon followed the route Golbat used to escape until they got into its lair. There were dozens of zubat hanging from the wall along with a few smaller golbat. The golbat they saw earlier was waiting at the other end. It said something, pointing at itself with the tips of its wings.

"What did it say?" Dawn asked.

"Do you really want to know?" Espeon told her, a bit embarrassed.

"Now I want to know it even more," Dawn replied. Espeon sighed.

"He said: Bring it on, bitch." She got red in the face.

"Bitch? I'll get you for that. Pachirisu, it's your turn. Use discharge! Espeon, use protect!" When Pachirisu unleashed her electric energies, Espeon went in front of Dawn, Piplup and Quilava to shield them from the attack. It shocked every single zubat and golbat in the whole cave, knocking them out. Once again Dawn threw her pokéball at Golbat but this time she was successful.

"We'll talk about that 'bitch' later," she said as the pokéball was sent to professor Rowan. "Let's get out of here now. We already got more than I hoped for."

By following the fresh wind it wasn't difficult to find the entrance. After a brief ride on Gyarados' back she was back at Mossdeep City. When she told Kenny and Zoey about the encounter they couldn't stop laughing.

"I should have been with you when that happened," Kenny said with tears of laughter in his eyes. "Your face must have been priceless."

"Oh shut up, you two," Dawn said, regretting that she told them about it in the first place. Although she would never admit it, part of her found it funny as well. It was new to her that pokémon would use such language.

Soon after, it was time to go to sleep. It has been some time since she could just watch a contest without worrying about her own performance. And after that, a cruise was waiting for them. Dawn couldn't help but wonder who wanted to speak to them and why he chose such a strange way of contacting them. Only time would tell.


	14. Chapter 14

**Thx Fight 4 Randomness for the suggestion in this chapter.**

**Disclaimer: I don't own Pokémon or its characters.**

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><p><span>Chapter 14: Shocking Revelations<span>

Dawn had a problem with her newest pokémon. Golbat not only refused to obey but he also annoyed the other pokémon so much that they couldn't focus on their training. When Gyarados finally had enough, it resulted in a rather heated debate. She didn't know what they had said but Golbat has been a lot nicer ever since. With Piplup's help Feebas learned whirlpool really fast and they were now working on ice beam. Dawn also noticed that they got along really well, often staying together even during breaks.

Kenny and Zoey both worked hard for the contest. Ursula, on the other hand, was nowhere to be found so they assumed that she had gone back to Lilycove City. This time, Dawn and her pokémon would simply watch and enjoy the contests and maybe even learn a thing or two.

Zoey was one of the first to do the appeal.

"Luxio! Curtain!" Her pokémon appeared in a field of lightning. "Start with rain dance!"

A dark cloud floated above the stage but it didn't actually rain. Instead, it slowly dropped to the ground, engulfing Luxio.

"Use scary face!" Now the cloud took the shape of Luxio's head, including yellow glowing eyes.

"Thunder and roar!" Lightning was illuminating the cloud from the inside when Luxio opened its mouth and released a thundering roar that shook the whole contest hall.

Needless to say, the judges were really impressed even though they nearly got a heart attack. A few appeals later it was Kenny's turn.

"Alakazam! Let's show them! Use double team!" To everyone's surprise he created merely one copy of himself.

"Hidden power! Control it with psychic!" The psychic type released about two dozens of light blue orbs which circled the copy. Suddenly Alakazam spread his arms and the orbs stopped in midair.

"Time for the dance!" His pokémon was moving his arms like a conductor while orb after orb shot at the copy which dodged every single one of them with a dance-like movement. Despite Alakazam controlling both the copy and the orbs it didn't look like he was holding back at all. It was clear that he had incredible reflexes and speed. Soon he disappeared, causing the orbs to merge into one big orb which crashed into the copy. When the smoke from the explosion was finally gone, the real Alakazam was standing there unharmed.

He received a lot of praise for the performance which looked both elegant and natural. Dawn congratulated Kenny and Zoey on their appeals backstage.

"You did a great job. I have no doubt that you will make it to the battle round," she told them.

"Yeah, did you see Alakazam's reflexes? And that was just a copy," Kenny said proudly.

"You must have trained a lot for that." Dawn nodded. "Zoey's appeal was amazing too. Even though I was a little scared."

"Well, that was the point," Zoey simply replied. "But I have to admit, it was stronger than I expected."

They both had no trouble getting to the finals. One could only imagine how much time Kenny spent training as Alakazam didn't just win, he steamrolled his opponents. In fact, it felt like he trained with Alakazam only. And that was exactly the case.

Now the audience was hoping that Zoey would prove more of a challenge to him.

"Luxio! Curtain!" Having seen Alakazam's battles, the spark pokémon was expecting the best fight of its life.

"Alakazam! One more time!" If this didn't work Kenny wouldn't know what else to do to impress Dawn.

"Luxio, start with spark!" Zoey commanded.

"Counter with psybeam!" Alakazam shot several beams at his opponent while Luxio was running up to him. When it jumped, the psychic type vanished just to reappear behind it. "Thunder wave!" Luxio had no chance of dodging the attack and got paralyzed. Now Alakazam's speed advantage was even greater than before.

"Use crunch!" Zoe ordered but Luxio just couldn't hit its opponent who dodged every attack effortlessly. Kenny's pokémon even started to play with Luxio, holding his fist in Luxio's mouth and pulling it back before it could bite. "Thunderbolt!" Once more, the moves didn't hit their target.

Zoey was in a tight spot and she knew it. There was no other choice but to fight back with pure power.

"Use discharge! Full power!" Alakazam tried to evade it by teleporting away but got hit anyway since the attack covered the whole stage. In addition to receiving quite a lot of damage he was also paralyzed.

"Fine! Enough playing around. Finish it with psychic," Kenny shouted. When Luxio was lifted by the move it released more electric energy which caused its opponent to lose its focus and stop the attack.

"Now crunch!" It was probably Luxio's last chance. If it managed to hit now it would mean victory.

"Dodge it and use fire punch!" At the last moment Alakazam stepped back and followed up with a punch on the head. Luxio was struggling for a few seconds but in the end the damage was too great and it fainted, making Kenny the winner.

"Thank you, Alakazam. That was closer than I thought," Kenny said.

"You fought well, Luxio. Take a nice rest," Zoey consoled her pokémon. But now it was time to congratulate the winner. "You deserved that victory. I wasn't strong enough this time," she said after shaking hands.

"You were really good," he reassured her. "If Alakazam had been a bit slower you would have won."

They met up with Dawn later.

"Congratulations, Kenny. That was quite an impressive battle." He didn't like her reaction though. He was hoping for more. After all, he has just beaten a top-coordinator. "It's your fifth ribbon, isn't it? What are you going to do now?"

"I think I'll return to Sinnoh to train for the Wallace Cup and grand festival." Then he remembered about the tickets for the cruise. "But the cruise comes first. I'm really curious about who wants to talk to us."

"Then we should prepare ourselves. The ship is leaving in a few hours," Zoey told them.

The ship turned out to be a lot bigger than expected. They had trouble finding their cabins in the maze-like interior. When they finally found their cabins, the coordinators let out a sigh of relief. Upon entering, they heard a strange voice.

"Thank you for coming. Please follow my instructions to get to the person who wants to speak with you," it said.

"Did you hear that? It was like telepathy," Kenny remarked.

"Yes, I did. Do you think we should do it?" Dawn asked a bit unsure.

"I understand that you are suspicious. But if we meant harm, we certainly would have chosen a less crowded place," the voice told them as if it was reading their minds.

In the end they decided to take the risk and followed the instructions. Dawn noticed that the voice sounded a bit depressed. It led them to another cabin. Just when they were about to knock, it opened and they lost control of their bodies. An unknown force made them enter the cabin before it closed the door. After that, they regained their control and looked around. The cabin was full of technical devices, including monitors where you could see other rooms. Next to the door there was a metang who probably used psychic and telepathy to get them here. Finally there was a man wearing a coat. Dawn immediately recognized him.

"Looker! You are the one who wants to talk to us?" she asked.

"Exactly," he replied. "But your friends don't know me yet so let me introduce myself. I'm Looker of the international police."

"These are my friends and rivals, Kenny and Zoey." Dawn introduced them.

"I know, he simply stated. "We have been observing you. Your actions have put you in danger so we decided to contact you."

"But couldn't you have done it another way?" Kenny wanted to know why a member of the police would use such methods.

"I'm afraid not. If they saw you with me they would try to kill you immediately." Looker ignored their shocked faces. "Ever since I raided one of their main bases I've been a target of their assassins. As you can see, they haven't been successful yet."

"Who are they?" Zoey asked curiously.

"Well, you have seen some of their unofficial employees." The poachers immediately came to mind. "They support those with weapons and other materials in return for a part of their profits. While they started as poachers themselves they use others as puppets now. They don't only sell pokémon but also weapons, drugs and much more. And they don't like it when someone gets in their way. Do you remember that poacher called Sid?"

"Yes, he has been arrested," Zoey replied. "Why do you ask?" The coordinators didn't like the way he asked. It sounded like something happened.

"He's dead." They certainly didn't see that coming. "Poisoned. We still don't know whether it was a rival who wanted to get rid of him permanently or someone else who was afraid that he could tell us some secrets. Anyway, it should show you that they are dead serious. Dawn, do you remember Hunter J?"

"I do, even though I don't really cherish those memories," she said truthfully.

"There might be a possibility that she's behind this." Dawn couldn't believe it. The woman who caused so much trouble and even tried to kill Ash has returned?

"What? But I heard that she's dead," she replied, trembling.

"We thought so too. But they use the same technology she had. In addition there have been sightings of her riding her salamence. However, there is the possibility that they simply stole it and just use her name to promote their own business," he added.

"So basically you just wanted to warn us?"Kenny asked.

"You have to know what you're dealing with. But no, that's not all. You see, one of their devices has a flaw. I'll spare you the technical details but it allowed us to build another device to track them down." He showed them a small thing with a round screen on it. "It has a range of 200 meters. Once the enemy's device enters it, a signal will warn you and a red dot will tell you about its position. Of course it's only a matter of time until they find the flaw and fix it. But in the meantime it will help you to stay safe."

He gave everyone one of those things.

"Oh, I nearly forgot. You still get a reward for defeating those poachers." He went to one of his computers, opening a list. "We rescued a lot of pokémon from one of their bases. They haven't been used yet so you can choose one of them as your reward. Take your time."

They looked at the long list of pokémon. Most of them were skarmory, metang and golbat but there were also a few rare ones among them. While Kenny and Zoey were busy looking at the list, Dawn felt that there was something wrong with the metang in the room. She decided to talk to it.

"What's wrong? You look really sad." Metang looked up.

"You're one of the few humans who even considered that I might have feelings," the voice in her head said.

"Why would you not?" she asked, a bit puzzled.

"Most people just look at me and assume that I'm just a machine. Looker is one the few who treats me with respect. But I can't stand the other members of the international police. Sometimes I regret having joined them." Its voice was full of bitterness.

"Why did you join in the first place?" Metang hesitated. It was clear that he didn't like to talk about this but he told her anyway.

"I was one of the pokémon Hunter J used in her base." Dawn could hear the guilt in his voice. "We thought her organization helped to return lost pokémon to their rightful owners. Too late did we realize what kind of criminal she really was. We were stupid and others paid the price. So I joined the police to atone for my crimes."

"I have an idea. Why don't you come with me?" she suggested. "We will meet those guys sooner or later if the things Looker told us are true."

Metang thought about it for a while. Then it nodded.

"You treated me well from the start so you can't be that bad. I will join you. That is, if Looker agrees to it," it added.

She didn't really think about that. Of course she would have to ask Looker first.

"Ehm, Looker? Do you mind if I choose Metang as my pokémon?" she asked while pointing at his metang.

"So it wants to leave? I can't say that I'm surprised. Most of my colleagues treat it like a machine which makes it really sad." Looker shook his head. "Metang may look like one and be genderless but it still has emotions. If it wants to join you then I won't stop it."

"Thank you. I'll take good care of it," Dawn promised.

"I'm sure you will. So have you decided yet?" he asked the other coordinators.

"I'll take that shellgon," Kenny replied.

"One yanmega for me, please," Zoey said.

Looker typed something on his keyboard. Then two pokéballs appeared in a nearby apparatus.

"Here you go. Take good care of them." He handed those to Kenny and Zoey before recalling Metang and giving it to Dawn. "One more thing: This conversation never happened. You never met me. You caught these pokémon yourself. Understood?"

"Of course!" They said at once.

"Good. You should go now. I have a lot of work to do. Please be careful."He looked at one of the screens. "Alright, it's clear. Get out before someone walks by."

After leaving they went back to their cabin immediately.

"An interesting fellow, that Looker guy," Kenny remarked.

"Yeah, he seemed very stressed though," Dawn replied. "His job must be really difficult."

"Wait a second." Everyone looked at Zoey. "He could look into our room. Do you think he has cameras in the bathroom too?"

Dawn paled but Kenny just waved it off.

"Come on, he didn't make the impression of a pervert now, did he?" Zoey wasn't convinced though.

"Every man can have hidden vices, you know?" she replied with a smirk.

"Geez, thanks for the vote of confidence. But do we have a choice?" he asked.

"I guess not," she said with a sigh. "We'll just have to trust him."

Even though none of them would admit it, the things Looker said made them pretty nervous. However, there was nothing they could do right now.

There was only one more exciting thing that happened during the voyage. Dawn was on the deck when the ship passed an island where a lot of magnemite and magneton were supposed to live because of a power plant attracting them. While she was enjoying the view she remembered something.

"Pachirisu, come on out!" The elesquirrel pokémon made a lot of progress during the last training so she promised her some extra poffins. She didn't have any spare ones back then but she made new poffins in the meantime. "As I promised, here is your reward."

When only one poffin was left, a plusle and minun suddenly jumped on Dawn's shoulder, took the last one and ate it. Of course Pachirisu wasn't amused.

"Oh no," Dawn mumbled when she saw the first sparks coming out of her pokémon's cheeks. Before she could say anything else, she was shocked by a discharge move and fell to the ground.

Pachirisu, on the other hand, started to chase the pokémon who stole her precious poffin, shooting thunderbolt after thunderbolt at them. After a while those two returned the fire. Meanwhile Ursula was standing nearby, barely containing her laughter.

"Perfect. I hope the second part will go just as well," she said.

When Dawn got up again, she noticed that her hair was in its glittery mode again. Fortunately, everyone was watching the electric types so they didn't notice. It didn't take long until some crew members tried to stop the fight.

"Stop it right now! If you keep going …," one of them shouted.

"Too late," another one remarked and pointed at the sky.

Dozens of magnemite and even a few magneton were floating towards the ship, attracted by the electric energies. The situation became confusing as every trainer tried to catch one of them. A few magnet pokémon took a particular interest in Dawn's hair.

"Get away from me!" she cried as they surrounded her head. She recalled Pachirisu and ran to her cabin as fast as she could but, of course, she couldn't find it. The magnemite couldn't keep up with her though, so only one magneton was left when she reached a dead end.

_I should catch it. You don't get a chance like that very often_, Dawn told herself.

"Vulpix, it's your turn!" Her pokémon got ready for battle.

"Use fire spin!" Magneton, surprised by her sudden initiative, didn't manage to dodge and got trapped inside a vortex of fire. It countered with zap cannon which Vulpix easily evaded.

"Now flamethrower!" The attack hurt the magnet pokémon badly so Dawn threw a pokéball. To her surprise, she was successful. Before she could celebrate her victory she noticed that her hair was still affected by the discharge. So she straightened it as much as she could and found the cabin this time. As soon as it was back to normal, she returned to the deck, where she was greeted by Kenny.

"You missed one hell of a fight. I caught a magnemite," he said proudly.

"Only a magnemite?" They turned around just to see Ursula standing there with a smug look on her face. "I caught a magneton."

"Well, so did I," Dawn countered.

"You're kidding, right?" Ursula asked in disbelief. "I guess not. It doesn't matter anyway. I got the pokémon I wanted."

"So those were your plusle and minun, after all," Dawn replied angrily.

"Whatever," Ursula just said and walked off.

The next day, they arrived at Slateport City. Kenny took the first ship back to Sinnoh. Dawn wasn't happy about his departure but she wasn't too sad either. Before parting ways, they promised each other to train hard for the Wallace Cup.

A new part of the Hoenn adventure would begin now.

* * *

><p><strong>She has caught quite a few Pokémon lately. The next one will be the last for a long time. <strong>

**The next chapter will include a contest, which follows grand festival rules.**


	15. Chapter 15

**A full contest chapter before things get really intense. Dawn's Absol is female.**

**Disclaimer: I don't own Pokémon or its characters.**

* * *

><p><span>Chapter 15: Double Battle Time<span>

The trip to Fallarbor Town was pretty uneventful. Apart from Zoey capturing a sandslash and torkoal, the only extraordinary thing that happened was an accidental pokémon capture by Dawn. When she got into a trapinch trap, she grabbed her bag and threw the first thing she could get a hold of at the pokémon. It happened to be a pokéball, which captured the ant pit pokémon.

Upon reaching their destination, they immediately registered for the contest. Unlike the contests before, this one was held under grand festival rules. While they could still use only one pokémon for the appeal, they could change them freely in the battle round, which consisted of double battles.

They spent the rest of the day training. In the morning before the contest, they played with their pokémon, giving them some rest.

Then it was time for the contest itself. The crowd was big, there were a lot of coordinators and it was a beautiful day. Perfect conditions for a perfect contest. As usual, Vivian was the MC of the event.

"Ladies and Gentlemen! Welcome to the Fallarbor Contest! It will follow the grand festival rules this time so expect many exciting battles," she shouted enthusiastically. "So let's not waste any more time. Here's our first contestant: Zoey!"

"Rapidash! Curtain!" It was the first time she used the fire horse pokémon in an appeal. It started to run in a circle, leaving a trail of fire behind.

"Use agility!" As Rapidash became faster, its image started to blur while the flames intensified. After a while one could only see a ring of fire.

"Now bounce and fire blast!" It jumped up high, shooting a big, star-shaped fire blast at the ground, which now looked like a flaming star surrounded by a ring of fire.

"Finish it up with flame wheel and stomp." While it was falling, it rolled up into a flame wheel and smashed into the ground like a meteor. When the smoke cleared, the people saw Rapidash standing proudly on its hind legs.

"What a fiery appeal. Perfect to get everyone warmed up," Vivian shouted, as the crowd cheered. The judges loved Rapidash's dazzling speed as well.

A few appeals later it was Dawn's turn.

"Froslass! Spotlight!" She appeared in an icy cloud.

"Start with ice beam!" Froslass shot the beams at the ground, creating several big pillars of ice.

"Break them with hidden power." The orbs easily smashed them into smaller pieces.

"Now psychic!" As the snow land pokémon was surrounded by a blue aura, the pieces of ice assembled, forming a big statue of Froslass herself. Now she started to dance, with the statue mimicking every move. One could only imagine how difficult it was to do this since the statue was several times bigger and heavier than the original. When she was done, the statue was slowly dropped to the ground.

"Icy wind!" The move made the loose parts stick together so that the ghost type didn't have to do that with psychic anymore. She bowed to the crowd before, which erupted into cheers.

"What a beautiful double dance," Vivian remarked. "It's a pity we have to take that statue off the stage for the next contestant."

Unsurprisingly, the judges were just as impressed as the crowd.

Dawn and Zoey watched the rest of the appeals. There were more coordinators than usual. Several of them made formidable performances. There was one that caught their eyes though. It was a boy with purple hair, wearing a strange green costume.

"Azumarill! Go!" There was something alarming about this pokémon. It had a sinister expression, very unlike other Azumarill.

"Ice beam!" It created several massive ice balls on the ground.

"Brick break!" Despite its size and short arms, it cleaved one of the balls with a single hit. It repeated this until it got to the last two. Azumarill lifted one of them, crushing it between its hands. Everyone stared in awe at the power of the aqua rabbit pokémon. It gave one more menacing look at the people before smashing the remaining ball with rock smash.

"Wow, that strength is almost scary. Definitely a way to fool someone with cute appearance," the MC said.

Dawn and Zoey met the boy backstage.

"You're Dawn, aren't you?" he said. "I saw you at the last Wallace Cup. Good job at defeating May."

"Uhm, thank you. But who are you?" Dawn asked.

"My name is Harley. You've heard from me for sure." He looked at her expectantly.

"Yes, I remember now. May told me about a strange guy with scary pokémon." She regretted saying that at once.

"Scary pokémon?" He screamed. "She just doesn't know when to keep her mouth shut. My azumarill wasn't scary now, was it?"

"To be honest, it did have a …," she started.

"Stop it! You'll pay for insulting my beloved pokémon," he said before walking off.

"That was strange," Zoey remarked.

"May told me that he could get mad easily. He'll probably get over it quickly." Dawn had no idea how wrong she was.

All of them made it to the battle round. The first battle was Dawn against, of all the people, Zoey.

"Absol, Togekiss! Spotlight!" Togekiss was determined to defeat Zoey this time.

"Glameow, Yanmgea! Curtain!" It was the first time Zoey used the bug type in a contest.

"Togekiss, start with light screen! Absol, swords dance!" Dawn didn't dare to attack yet.

"Yanmega, use silver wind!" It flapped its wings, releasing several silver crescents at Absol who jumped up high to dodge them. "Glamewo, fake out!" He also jumped up, clapping his paws together and shooting a shockwave at the disaster pokémon, pushing her back.

"Aura sphere!" Togekiss shot the sphere at Glameow but Yanmega took it, receiving almost no damage due to its typing.

"Ancient power on Togekiss!" Zoey ordered.

"Dodge it and use air slash!" The jubilee pokémon evaded the silver ball and countered with an air slash attack, which was also dodged. But then Glameow jumped on Togekiss.

"Thunderbolt!" Fortunately for her, the damage wasn't serious because of the light screen.

"Extremespeed on Yanmega!" Glameow couldn't hold on as Togekiss became extremely fast, knocking Yanmega away. "Aura sphere! Absol, use night slash!" With a spin, the jubilee pokémon shot the aura sphere at Glameow, who deflected it with iron tail. However, it distracted him enough so that Absol could land a clean hit.

"Yanmega, signal beam!" Absol braced herself, but Yanmega shot it at Glameow who deflected it at Absol with his tail. The light screen ended after the attack.

They clashed like this for a while with neither of them gaining the upper hand. As the time was starting to run out, Dawn knew that she had to try harder.

"Absol, use psycho cut! Togekiss, hidden power!" Absol shot several purple glowing rings at her opponents, which were being surrounded by hidden power orbs. Yanmega and Glameow dodged them easily though. "Togekiss, psychic!" The rings suddenly turned, hitting the pokémon from behind.

"Thunderwind!" Yanmega used silver wind, which was strengthened by Glameow's thunderbolt, turning the crescents yellow and making them sparkle with energy.

"Absol, detect! Then night slash!" With enormous speed, the disaster pokémon dodged all of them and prepared for the attack, when a signal indicated the end of the battle.

"And the winner is … Dawn," Vivial announced. They looked at the display, only to see that Dawn had a few more points left.

"We did it! I'm so proud of you," Dawn cried, hugging her pokémon.

"You fought well, Yanmega. You too, Glameow," Zoey consoled her pokémon, before she went to her rival. "Congratulations. But you don't have the ribbon yet. So don't get overconfident."

"No need to worry." Her catchphrase slipped out again.

"You know, that's when I worry the most." Zoey replied with a smirk as they walked off the stage.

"Not you too! That's exactly the reason I'm trying not to say it," she said truthfully.

When they reached the backstage they saw on a screen, that the next fight was nearly over already. It was Harley against a young coordinator.

"Double slap!" His wigglytuff grabbed the opponent's meditite and started to slap it mercilessly while his banette prevented a chimecho from interfering. It shot a shadow ball right through its ally at Meditite. Then the time ran out with Harley having more points than his opponent.

"The winner of this match is … Harley," the MC shouted.

"Just as expected," he mumbled. "Come, my darlings. You have done well."

"He's kind of creepy," Dawn admitted.

"Well, you better get used to it, because he's your next opponent," Zoey remarked. "And it probably won't be easy."

"You're right," Dawn agreed.

She didn't see him until it was time for their battle a few matches later.

"Don't get your hopes up. Disappointment wouldn't look good on your face," he said before calling out his pokémon. "Ariados, Cacturne! It's your turn!"

"Quilava, Golbat! Spotlight!" She didn't really understand what he was trying to say but decided that she could think about it later.

"Ariados! Spider web!" It created a web quickly and threw it at Quilava.

"Flame wheel! Golbat, air cutter!" He burned right through the web but was hit by Cacturne's sucker punch, knocking him back. Ariados followed up with poison sting, which poisoned Quilava. In the meantime, Golbat shot several S-shaped blades at his opponents, hurting them.

"Ariados! String shot! Use needle arm, Cacturne!" The string wrapped around Quilava's legs and arms, immobilizing him while Cacturne was attacking relentlessly before it was driven away by Golbat, who also cut the bindings.

"Golbat, use sludge bomb! Quilava, show them your flamethrower!" Their opponents didn't have a lot of trouble dodging though. Upon being hit by a flamethrower, a sludge bomb started to glow in a red light. Unlike normal ones, it didn't explode when it fell to the ground. However, when Cacturne stepped on it while dodging, it acted like a splinter mine, sending out smaller sludge bombs in all directions. One of them hit Ariados. In the meantime, the poison was hurting Quilava more and more.

"Now that's enough. Ariados, string shot on Golbat. Cacturne, use drain punch and finish Quilava," Harley ordered. The string wrapped around Golbat's wings, making it fall to the ground. Quilava, on the other hand, was hit by numerous punches. He was nearly done for, when he glowed in a white light, forcing Cacturne to stop its attack. When it was over, Typhlosion was standing there. He was still badly hurt though.

Harely was pretty sure of his victory. Not only did he have more points, but one of Dawn's pokémon was nearly down while the other was tied up.

"Typhlosion, hang in there!" Dawn shouted. "Golbat, break free! I know you can do it." Golbat used all his strength to free himself. "Good job. Now use sludge bomb on Cacturne!" The scarecrow pokémon screamed in pain, falling to its knees as the attack hit it right in the back.

"Ariados, use string shot again!" Harley commanded. "You'll pay for doing this to my sweetie."

"Dodge it and use confuse ray!" Golbat did as he was told. The confusion caused Ariados to fire the next string shot in the wrong direction. "Now use wing attack on Cacturne. Typhlosion, use flamethrower!" Being attacked from two sides, it took massive damage.

"Help Cacturne! Use poison sting," Harley shouted at his other pokémon. This time it worked despite the confusion. Shortly before it could hit Golbat, he flew up high, causing it to hit its ally instead.

"Use fire punch!" Typhlosion hit it as hard as he could, sending it flying. It landed next to Ariados.

"No! Get up and use drain punch again!" But it was too late. Cacturne has taken too much damage and fainted.

The tide has turned. Now it was Dawn who had more points. Harley could only watch as Golbat landed on Ariados back, attacking it with wing attack. Finally, Typhlosion finished it off with another flamethrower.

"Both of Harley's pokémon are unable to battle, so the winner is Dawn!" Vivian shouted at the cheering crowd.

"Hmph!" Harley recalled his pokémon without a word and walked off.

"You were wonderful. Thank you so much. Now have a good rest," she told her pokémon.

Dawn went backstage again where she was congratulated by Zoey.

"Good job. I didn't look easy," she said.

"If Typhlosion hadn't evolved or Golbat hadn't been able to break free, we probably would have lost. They were awesome," Dawn answered truthfully. "I think I need a short break now."

They watched the rest of the quarter-finals together. The competing coordinators were quite experienced. Dawn knew the rest wouldn't be a cakewalk. Her next opponent was a young woman called Sarah, who used a drifloon and hitmonlee. Of course, she would probably use other pokémon in her next battle. During the break between the quarter- and semi-finals, Dawn quickly went to the pokémon center to change her pokémon. After all, she could only carry six at one time.

She was in the second battle of the semi-finals so she watched the first one, which was won by an older coordinator called Henry.

Then it was time for the battle between Dawn and Sarah.

"Piplup, Espeon! Spotlight!" It has been a long time since Piplup was in a double battle.

"Plusle! Minun! Showtime!" Dawn watched the two pokémon nervously. Even though she didn't freak out anymore, they still made her feel a bit uneasy.

"That Espeon might have magic bounce. Better take no risks," Sarah murmured. "Start with thunderbolt!" she commanded. Plusle and Minun made some cute gestures before they shot the thunderbolt at Piplup.

"Espeon, protect! Piplup, use bubblebeam!" Espeon teleported in front of Piplup, shielding him from harm. Then he jumped up, shooting bubbles at his opponents. However, they used protect themselves and countered with another thunderbolt.

"Create a wall of ice!" Dawn shouted and Piplup obeyed. The wall blocked the thunderbolt before shattering. "Use psychic on the shards!" The shards began to float. Then they flew directly towards Plusle and Minun.

"Discharge!" The shards never hit them as they were destroyed by that move with only a cloud of glittery snow left.

"Their attacks are too strong," Dawn mumbled. "I have to separate them. Espeon, pull Plusle away with psychic!" She tried it but the cheering pokémon held onto each other. "Let's try something different. Espeon, use hidden power and surround Piplup with it." Orbs now circled the penguin pokémon. "Piplup, use the combination we practised yesterday!" He started to run towards his opponents. They released another thunderbolt at him but the orbs took the electricity.

"Ground type, huh? Use swift!" The cheering pokémon prepared to attack.

"Now!" Dawn shouted. Piplup jumped, starting to spin like a drill. The hidden power orbs shot directly at the ground between Plusle and Minun, forcing them to separate. Piplup hit Minun with drill peck directly after.

"Minun, use spark! Plusle, thunderbolt!" Suddenly Piplup used hydro pump while spinning, smashing Minun into a nearby wall while getting knocked back by the force of the attack. That way he also evaded Plusle's thunderbolt. He landed gracefully next to Espeon.

"Use psychic on Plusle!" This time there was no Minun to hold its hand so it was dragged into the other direction.

"Reunite!" Sarah shouted. Slowly Plusle and Minun walked towards each other without ever taking their eyes off their opponents.

"Don't let that happen, Espeon. You know what to do." Just as they were about to get together, Espeon teleported between them and knocked Minun back with iron tail. Plusle shot her with thunderbolt but it wasn't nearly as strong as before. Piplup pushed it back with bubblebeam.

Dawn looked at the display. She had more points right now but that could change easily. Sarah got an idea.

"Use spark while running towards each other!" Dawn knew that Espeon would get hurt badly this time if she tried to intercept them again.

"Use psychic to knock Minun against Plusle!" Espeon was surprised about the order but obeyed nonetheless. She increased Minun's speed, causing them to crash into each other before they could slow down. "Now hidden power! Piplup, bubblebeam!" The orbs and bubbles hit them while they were still recovering. Despite the great damage they stood up again.

However, before they could do anything else, the five minutes were up.

"The battle is over and the coordinator advancing to the finals is Dawn!" Dawn let out a sigh of relief.

"Don't feel bad. We'll just train harder so that it won't happen again," Sarah comforted her pokémon. Before she walked off, she briefly turned to Dawn. "Good luck in the finals."

"Thank you," she replied. "Take a good rest now. For a job well done," she said to her pokémon.

Then she saw her next opponent getting ready for the final match in the contest. It started a few minutes later.

"Pachirisu, Mamoswine! Spotlight!" She intended on using some older combinations this time.

"Arcanine, Dewgong. Time to shine!" Henry exclaimed.

"Prepare an ice shard!" Mamoswine didn't fire it though.

"Use fire blast!" Henry commanded

"Pachirisu, protect!" She jumped in front of Mamoswine and took the hit effortlessly. Right after, she jumped on his back and he shot the ice shard at Arcanine.

"Reflect it with iron tail!" Dewgong shot it right back at Mamoswine who just ate it, causing icy spikes to grow on his fur.

"Use earthquake!" A massive shockwave made its way towards Henry's pokémon.

"Jump and counter with flamethrower and ice beam." They had no problem avoiding the attack that way but they were surprised by Pachirisu.

"Discharge!" They were hit in midair, causing them to crash to the ground but the battle was far from over.

"Dewgong, use icy wind!" The attack caused some damage while slowing Mamoswine and Pachirisu down at the same time. "Aqua jet! Arcanine, extremespeed on Mamoswine!"

"Counter with take down! Pachirisu, use thunderbolt!" Mamoswine was pushed back by the two attacks but didn't take any major damage thanks to his ice armor. Pachirisu shocked Dewgong while it was surrounded by water.

"Another extremespeed on Pachirisu. Dewgong, support him with hidden power!" The hidden power orbs surrounded Arcanine, boosting his attack power. Before she could react, Arcanine hit her, sending her flying. She wasn't finished though.

"Pachirisu, use dig! Mamoswine, use hail!" The elesquirrel pokémon disappeared in a hole before Mamoswine unleashed a snow storm.

"Arcanine, fire blast! Dewgong, aurora beam!" They aimed at Mamoswine but didn't hit him due to his snow cloak ability.

"Use ice shard and ancient power!" Dawn commanded. Her opponent's pokémon braced themselves for the attack but nothing came.

"Use flamethrower on the whole area!" However, just when it was about to attack, Pachirisu, encased in a shining orb of ice, came out of the ground right below Arcanine. She hit it in the belly before turning around in midair and tackling Dewgong.

"Mamoswine, use blizzard!" The move made a direct counter attack impossible. When the time ran out, Dawn had more points, mostly because of the Ice Chandelier.

"The victory, and therefore the ribbon, goes to Dawn!" Vivian announced.

"You were awesome," Dawn said as she recalled her pokémon.

"You fought bravely. I'm proud of you," Henry told his pokémon. Then he turned to Dawn. "It was a good fight. Good luck in your future contests."

"Thank you. You were great too," she complimented him.

As he walked away, Mr. Contesta presented her the Fallarbor Ribbon.

"We all had a great time watching your battles. Your strength and beauty were truly inspiring. As a symbol of your victory take this Ribbon." She held it up high.

"Yes! My third ribbon!" Dawn exclaimed.

"So another memorable contest comes to an end. We'd be happy to see you again next time. Bye, Fallarbor Town!" Vivian shouted.

Only a few hours later, Dawn and Zoey were already on their way to Rustboro City. Since they would arrive too late for the contest, if they took the normal route, they agreed on taking a shortcut through Meteor Falls. They also hoped to find some rare pokémon in the caves.

They would find a lot more than that.


	16. Chapter 16

**Another major clash with the criminal organization. Chapter 17 and 18 will be about contests again. Chapter 19 will take place in Sinnoh (might be a bit shorter than the others) and the Wallace Cup will begin in Chapter 20.**

**Disclaimer: I don't own Pokémon or its characters.**

* * *

><p><span>Chapter 16: The Domination Project<span>

"Glamew, use shock wave!" The electric move hit a small, blue pokémon with wings, which looked like they were made of cotton.

Zoey was currently trying to catch a swablu near an entrance to Meteor Falls. It put up a good fight against Glameow, however, its strength was nearing an end now.

"Another shock wave!" Zoey commanded. This time, Swablu didn't get up again, as she threw a pokéball at it, capturing the cotton bird pokémon. "Yes! Good job, Glameow. We captured a swablu!"

"Congratulations, Zoey. But don't you think that we should go into the cave?" Dawn said as the pokéball was sent to the professor. "The rain could start any minute now."

"You're right." Zoey agreed.

The clouds were getting darker so they didn't waste any more time. Unsurprisingly it started just a few minutes later. But they didn't pay attention to that. The devices they received from Looker made some noise, showing a red dot on the screen. The noise stopped soon but the dot was getting closer and closer to the center.

"One of them is nearby. Better get ready for a fight," Zoey said nervously and Dawn nodded.

They called out Buneary, Vulpix, Leafeon and Mismagius and hid behind some rocks, hoping that the enemy would simply walk by. Suddenly he stopped nearby.

"Don't bother hiding. We know that you are here." His voice was calm but a bit creepy. "You defeated some of our employees and now you're trying to interfere with our business again? Surrender now and we might let you live." They stood up, ready to fight and took a closer look at him. It was a young man in a kind of black uniform, wearing a black bandana.

"We? You are alone," Zoey remarked.

He just laughed and snapped his fingers. Several growls were heard in the distance, followed by the sounds of marching pokémon. It turned out to be a bunch of bagon. However, there was something wrong with them. Their faces were completely expressionless, their eyes glowing in a red light.

"We need to test something. Thank you for volunteering," he told them with an evil grin.

"What have you done to those pokémon?" Dawn yelled at him.

"That's none of your concern. Bagon, use headbutt!" Without hesitating, the six bagon rushed at their opponents.

"Mismagius, use magical leaf!" The ghost type floated towards them, releasing lots of leaves. Although they caused some damage, the dragon types continued as if nothing happened. They attacked the nearest enemy, which happened to be Mismagius. Of course, their headbutts had no effect on it.

"No, you idiots! Don't attack a ghost type with headbutt. Use it on the others!" Immediately, they ignored Mismagius and ran to the other pokémon.

"Piplup, Buneary, create an ice wall!" Before the bagon could get to them, a wall of ice was blocking the way, which they tried to smash with their heads. Despite taking heavy damage from the ice, they still continued. "Freeze them with ice beam!" When the wall was destroyed, Piplup and Buneary froze them solid.

"That should be enough," Zoey said but they were all surprised to see the ice shatter. "Impossible!"

"Vulpix, extrasensory! Piplup, bubblebeam! Buneary, ice beam! Attack two of them each!" Dawn commanded.

"Glameow, shock wave! Leafeon, magical leaves! Mismagius, hyper beam!" Zoey ordered.

The bagon were smashed into nearby rocks by the force of the attacks. Now something strange happened. Those who were hit by extrasensory or hyper beam started to cough violently before some strange, solid, red material fell out of their mouths. After that, their eyes turned back to normal and they collapsed from exhaustion. The others simply stood up again, despite their heavy injuries, resuming their attack.

"Did you see that?" Dawn asked. "Let's try it again. Vulpix, extrasensory!"

She hit the rest of the dragon types, who showed the same reaction.

"Interesting." The man seemed surprised. "We will have to fix that flaw. But first, I have to punish you for everything you've done. Come on out!" He called out five pokémon: Staraptor, Crobat, Skarmory, Honchkrow and Ninjask.

"Better reinforce our position," Zoey remarked. "Gastrodon, help us out!"

"You're right. Metang, it's your turn!" It was shocked when it saw the man. She could sense a lot of rage in it.

"That guy worked for Hunter J. He was one of her cruelest henchmen," he told her telepathically.

"You worked for Hunter J?" she asked, stunned.

"What? Who told you? Was it that metang? We had a lot, so it might be possible that it was one of them." He shrugged. "It doesn't matter. You won't get out of here alive anyway. Skarmory, flash cannon! Crobat, sludge bomb! Honchkrow, dark pulse! Ninjask, silver wind!"

Before Zoey or Dawn could react, Piplup jumped in front of them, taking the attack while using protect. However, the attacks were too much for him so he was smashed against a wall.

"Piplup, no!" Dawn cried. "Thank you for your courage. Take a rest now." She recalled him before turning back to the battle. "Buneary, use thunderbolt! Vulpix, use flamethrower! Metang, bullet punch!"

"Gastrodon, hydro pump! Glameow, shock wave! Leafeon, leaf blade! And Mismagius, use shadow ball!" Zoey ordered.

"Pathetic! Counter it!" the man shouted.

Skarmory shielded the rest by taking the bullet punch and leaf blade, receiving only very little damage. Honchkrow dodged the shadow ball and hit Mismagius with night slash while Crobat evaded the flamethrower and attacked Vulpix with cross poison. Ninjask created a substitute, which got destroyed by the electric and water attacks. Then it attacked with fury cutter several times, hurting Glameow and Buneary badly. Staraptor attacked Vulpix with brave bird, finishing off the tired pokémon. After a while, Mismagius, Buneary and Glameow were down as well.

"Crobat, sludge bomb on the blue-haired girl! Ninjask, use string shot." The string wrapped around her legs, causing her to fall to the ground. Without hesitation Crobat attacked her, but it only hit Metang, who got in between them just in time. The man laughed. "Let's see how much it can take! Everyone attack it!"

"Don't do it, Metang! They'll kill you! Run!" Dawn screamed, but he wouldn't move.

"If I would run now, I would just repeat my mistakes. I won't allow them to hurt you! Or your friend! Or your pokémon! I won't!" it told her, its voice getting louder and louder. "They won't win THIS time!"

It used iron defense while taking hits from all the five pokémon. Despite the force of the attacks, it didn't move at all. Suddenly it glowed in an intense white light. She had seen this often enough to know what was going to happen. It increased in size enormously and got two more legs. Before she knew it, Metagross was standing in front of her, seemingly unharmed.

"What the hell? No matter, let's finish this! Ninjask, fury cutter! Crobat, shadow ball!" the man ordered. Ninjask flew directly towards the iron leg pokémon.

"Use bullet punch!" Dawn commanded. With great speed, Metagross dodged the shadow ball and hit the surprised bug type right in the face, knocking it out with a single hit. "Psychic on Crobat! Then meteor mash!" It used psychic to smash Crobat into the ground before it practically fell on the bat pokémon, causing it to faint instantly.

"What? You'll pay for this! Honchcrow, dark pulse! Staraptor, close combat! Skarmory, use flash cannon!" he shouted angrily. He didn't even consider that he might lose this battle though.

"We'll help you! Luxio, come on out and use thunder! Gastrodon, another hydro pump!" Zoey told her pokémon, not wanting Metagross to fight alone.

"She's right. You don't have to do this on your own," Dawn agreed. "Espeon, Eevee, come on out. Use zap cannon and hidden power!"

The combined power of hydro pump and thunder damaged Honchkrow and Skarmory heavily, forcing them to land where they were greeted by Leafon's leaf blade and Eevee's hidden power. Staraptor was shocked by the zap cannon when it tried to push back Metagross.

"Now is your chance! Another meteor mash!" Dawn commanded. Staraptor was hit hard but it still managed to get up.

"It's no use. Return!" the man said calmly while recalling it and his other pokémon. "Beaten by children …. Listen to me, you brats. I'm Hawk, one of the strongest commanders of our powerful organization. I won't forget this! Xatu, get us out of here!" It was only there for a second until it teleported itself and its master to safety.

Dawn, Zoey and their pokémon sank to the floor. That was extremely close.

"Thanks, everyone. You were awesome," they told their partners before recalling them.

"There must be something here, which is pretty important to those guys," Zoey said after a brief pause.

"Yeah, he said something about interfering with their business again. Do you think there's a base around her?" Dawn asked.

"I don't know but we should find out," she replied. "This time, however, we should teleport away immediately if one of them shows up again."

"Right! Let's take the red stuff that fell out the bagon. The police might need it," Dawn suggested.

"Good idea. Speaking of bagon, where are they?" Zoey looked around.

"They probably fled during the battle," her friend guessed. "We should get moving now."

So they ventured deeper into the cave. They didn't see a single pokémon on the way. It didn't take long until several dots appeared on their devices. Soon they even heard voices but they decided not to attack. Instead they just listened.

"… sudden orders to retreat. Just because Hawk got beaten by kids," a man said.

"Really? That's ridiculous. And he's supposed to be some kind of elite," a woman replied.

"Shut up and get back to work. We have to get it out right now!" another man yelled.

Dawn and Zoey went closer to the camp so they could have a look. It was full of boxes, which were teleported away one after another by kadabra with red glowing eyes. There was also mining equipment and a few strange machines. When the last box was gone, the boss turned to the others.

"Alright, let's destroy the rest and then get out of here!" he shouted.

"Why do we flee? They're just kids," one of the henchmen asked.

"Because they might have already called the cops, you moron." Their boss was visibly annoyed with them. "Now stop asking questions and do as I say!"

Before they could do anything, a swarm of bagon and even a slamance appeared out of nowhere, attacking them. They called out their pokémon but it was clear that they had no chance of winning.

The boss somehow managed to get past the pokémon and attempted to blow up their machinery to destroy evidence.

"Metagross, come on out and stop him!" Dawn said, pointing at the boss. Using psychic, it hurled him right back into the battle, where he was taken out by several bagon. Three Kadabra appeared right next to the machines but didn't do anything. Zoey called out Gastrodon.

"Gastrodon, use hyper beam on all of them!" She commanded.

They didn't even try defend themselves. Similar to the bagon, they coughed up the red material when they were hit. Then they just looked at the scene in front of them with confusion and teleported away.

The battle was over soon, with the criminals and their pokémon lying unconsciously on the floor. The dragon types gave Dawn and Zoey a nod before returning to the deeper parts of the cave, where they probably lived. The coordinators just tied the henchmen up, called the police and waited for them to come.

About an hour later, they finally arrived. They immediately started to secure the machines in the base and arrested the criminals. Dawn and Zoey gave the red material they found to the captain.

"They used this to control wild pokémon somehow." His eyes lit up.

"That should prove really helpful. You have our thanks," he told them.

Before they were allowed to go, they had to answer questions about everything that happened here.

Meanwhile, the captain snuck away from the others. He found a small chamber, where he took his phone and called someone.

"Yes, sir, I have it. They gave it to me right away. I'll destroy it at once," he said.

When he hung up, he heard something behind him. Upon turning, he was hit by a poison jab, followed up by a brick break on the head, which knocked him out.

"Good job, Croagunk," Looker said as he left his hiding place along with several other members of the international police. "Too bad we couldn't get a name from him. Anyway, arrest him."

* * *

><p>At the same time, Hawk, the man who fought against Dawn and Zoey, entered a large room inside the main base of his organization. Unlike the other rooms, this one wasn't filled with dozens of machines or boxes. There was a short man sitting at the desk at the far end of the room. Two houndoom were at the sides of the chair, observing the commander.<p>

"So how did it go?" he asked Hawk.

"We managed to save all the materials, but the machines were lost," he told him.

"That's what you get for getting beaten by kids. Not one of your brightest moments, eh?" Hawk growled in frustration. "Anyway, I hope, the project worked as planned?"

"Those bagon were stupid as hell. But they did whatever I said and felt no pain. There was another weakness though," he added.

"Oh? And what might that be?" his boss asked curiously.

"There were two attacks, hyper beam and extrasensory, which destroyed the devices, even though they were inside the pokémon. The rest of the attacks, however, had no effect on them," he explained.

"Interesting. I wonder how we could solve that problem." The boss mumbled, leaning back in his chair.

"Maybe we could plant the controllers deeper inside their bodies?" Hawk suggested.

"I doubt that would do anything."He waved it off. "Leave it to me. Is there anything else to report?"

"Oh yes, Nr. 21 just called me. He got the remains of the devices from the kids." He said while grinning. "Those girls have no idea how powerful we are."

"It doesn't matter." The grin vanished. "They wouldn't be able to make a connection anyway. Anything else?"

"A few members have been arrested. What should we do about them?" Hawk expected his boss to ask him to kill them.

"What do they know?" the shorter man asked.

"Nothing of importance." He shrugged. "They're little more than thugs, guarding the more important members."

"Good. Forget about them. Anything else?" But he already told him everything.

"No, sir. I'll gather some of the boys and then we'll get rid of those kids once and for all." He turned to leave the room but his boss stopped him.

"No, you won't," he just said.

"What? But …."Hawk started.

"No buts. You have other things to do," the boss insisted.

"They have destroyed one of our bases!" he shouted.

"It wasn't that important. Team Rocket is far more important than a few random children. Shark has been killed so you'll take his job. Unless, of course, you wish to join him," he told him with a big grin. "I'm sure Rose would be delighted to take it."

"No, sir," the commander replied immediately. "I'll do it."

"Just remember that I'll be watching you," his boss added with a smirk. "Start anything by yourself and you're as good as dead."

"Yes, sir." Hawk hated dealing with Team Rocket but he had no choice this time.

"You can go." With a sigh, he left the room again. On his way out of the base, he could hear the other members talking about him and laughing behind his back. Those two girls would pay for making him look like a weakling. A bald man, wearing the same uniform as Hawk, stopped him.

"Hey, Hawk. Are the stories true? You got beaten by two girls?" he asked, barely containing his laughter.

"Shut up, Viper! They got lucky, that's all," Hawk growled.

"Sure. So what are you going to do now? Hunt them down?" Viper inquired.

"Boss told me to take Shark's place." He shook his head. "Now I have to deal with that Rocket scum."

"Sucks to be you," his rival said.

"As if you would have done any better. Your pathetic pokémon are no match for mine," he yelled.

"You can insult me all you want, but it won't make the shame go away. Prepare to be the main topic of every conversation for at least a week." Viper walked off, laughing maniacally.

Hawk had enough. Now even someone like Viper was mocking him. Once he was done with Team Rocket, he would catch those girls and give them a slow, painful death.

* * *

><p>Dawn and Zoey finally reached the exit. They certainly had enough of dark caves for a while. Now they could see Rustboro City in the distance, the place of their next contest.<p> 


	17. Chapter 17

**Dawn and Zoey heven't forgotten what Juan told them.**

**Disclaimer: I don't own Pokémon or its characters.**

* * *

><p><span>Chapter 17: The Confirmation<span>

Dawn was surprised to say the least. Not only did Zoey decide not to participate in the contest but she wanted to do a gym battle instead. Since she already had three ribbons, there was no need to hurry. She told her rival that she wanted to challenge a gym ever since her loss against Kenny in the Mossdeep contest. Although there was a gym at Mauville City, she didn't challenge it as they might have been too late for the Fallarbor contest. Fallarbor Town, on the other hand, didn't have a gym.

Nevertheless, they trained together to prepare for their battles. Zoey already knew that she would battle the gym's rock types with Gastrodon and Leafeon. She didn't want to take any risks despite the Rustboro gym being the weakest in Hoenn.

Since there were much less coordinators to enter this contest, Dawn decided to use Feebas this time.

"Are you sure about this?" Zoey asked shortly before the start of the contest.

"Absolutely. She has to compete in a contest and this is the best chance," Dawn replied. "I'm sure that she will succeed."

"I hope you know what you're doing." Zoey gave her a worried look.

Dawn was one of the last coordinators to do the appeal so she and Feebas had a lot of time to watch the others. It kind of reminded her of her first contest in Hoenn: No major rival, mostly inexperienced coordinators. Of course, Feebas was very nervous despite the hard training. Piplup seemed to be even more nervous. They have gotten pretty close so he wanted her to succeed just as much as his trainer.

"Don't worry. You'll be great!" she encouraged her pokémon, but it didn't really work. Neither did Piplup's attempts.

A few appeals later, it was her turn.

"Feebas! Spotlight!" she shouted as she called out the fish pokémon. Everybody looked at her curiously.

"Start with whirlpool!" Even though it wasn't a very big whirlpool, the audience cheered and Dawn was thankful for that. Hopefully, it would give Feebas more courage.

"Use hypnosis!" The green rings of the hypnosis move moved up the whirlpool, increasing in radius as it got bigger. Even when they were past the whirlpool, they still got wider until they dissolved. Another effect was that they turned the whirlpool turquoise. The crowd cheered even more.

"Well done, Feebas. Now get on the whirlpool!" With a spiral-like movement she swam up. It wasn't easy due to the strong current but in the end she made it to the top. She received standing ovations for that, which really moved Dawn. These people knew how hard it was for Feebas. Or at least a few of them knew, but the rest joined them. Never in her life has Feebas felt like that. It was absolutely overwhelming. Before Dawn could give another command, she glowed in a pure, white light. Her body grew longer, the brown scales turned crème, blue and pink. A few seconds later, Milotic was floating above the whirlpool.

"Milooo!" The ethereal cry echoed though the whole contest hall as everyone stared in awe at her beauty. The one most captivated was probably her trainer, who was so happy for her pokémon.

"To answer everyone's questions: Yes, you just saw a feebas evolving into a milotic. And no, this isn't a dream," Vivian said, visibly shaken.

"Evolutions during appeals are mostly done with stones but this is completely different," Mr. Contesta exclaimed. "You need a lot of courage to enter a contest with a feebas and actually get it to evolve. Even more because of its unique evolutionary process. Therefore it was an excellent appeal."

"Wait! I wasn't finished yet." Dawn said nervously.

"Oh sorry, but it doesn't matter. You have no reason to worry, trust me," he told her with a smile.

"Oh, okay." The rest of the judges also saw it that way.

Then Dawn went backstage where she was congratulated by Zoey.

"I guess I was wrong after all. You did a wonderful job with Feebas … I mean Milotic. I'm sorry for doubting her," she apologized.

"It's alright." Dawn waved it off. "Now the battle round should be much easier. Let's check whether she has learned any new moves." She took out her pokédex, holding it in front of the pokéball with Milotic in it. "Awesome, twister. That ribbon is as good as mine!"

"Don't forget, she has just evolved so she isn't used to her new body and power yet," Zoey warned.

"If we just do our best, nothing will stop us here. We've already come too far to lose now." Dawn had absolute faith in her pokémon's strength.

"Make sure you aren't getting overconfident," her friend mumbled.

However, Milotic turned out to be already really strong, making it to the finals without any problems. Dawn's opponent was a young, but talented coordinator called Sabine.

"Milotic! Spotlight!" Only one more victory and Dawn would have her fourth ribbon.

"Marshtomp! It's your turn!" Sabine shouted. "Start with mud bomb and water gun!" It used the water gun on the mud bomb, increasing its speed.

"Freeze it with ice beam!" The beam encased it in ice, causing it to drop on the floor due to the increased weight. The water still hit her though so that she had to block it with her tail. "Not bad. Close the distance!"

"Use muddy water!" A brown wave of water made its way towards Milotic but she just flew right over it. "Another mud bomb!"

"Grab it with wrap!" Before Marshtomp could attack, she wrapped her tail around it, holding it right in front of her face. "Hypnosis!" The rings hit point black and put it to sleep immediately. Then Milotic tossed it away.

"Wake up!" its trainer shouted but it was no use.

"Use ice beam to imprison it!" Milotic created several pillars of ice which acted like a prison without freezing the pokémon itself. "Now twister!" She conjured up a tornado in front of her, which then moved towards the mud fish pokémon. When it finally woke up, it was already too late. The tornado caught the pokémon along with the ice, shattering it. The shards whirling inside hurt Marshtomp more than the actual twister. After a while, it subsided, causing Marshtomp to fall on the ground next to its frozen mud bomb.

"Get up and throw that ball at Milotic!" Sabine's pokémon wasn't finished yet. It stood up again and threw its mud bomb at Milotic. She smashed it with her tail but that only caused it to explode, covering her body with mud. "Now use muddy water!" Once again it sent out a brown wave at its opponent.

"Use whirlpool and get inside!" By doing so, she got rid of the mud while turning the whirlpool brown and thus creating her own muddy water attack. "Shoot it at Marshtomp!" Upon getting out again, Milotic sent her whirlpool to collide with Marshtomp's attack. They were evenly matched so no pokémon was hit.

"Use surf!" Now Marshtomp was riding another wave coming towards Milotic.

"Freeze it with ice beam!" The wave got frozen but the mud fish pokémon jumped off just in time, following up with take down, which hit her in the face.

"Iron tail!" She knocked it away with her tail, causing it to land behind the icy remains of its surf attack. "Now twister!" Milotic spun the fins on her tail like a fan, creating a powerful tornado. It crashed into the ice, shattering it and making the ice shards hit the pokémon behind it. Marshtomp got smashed against a wall and had to endure the whole ice coming at it as it wasn't strong enough to withstand the strong winds.

A signal indicated the end of the battle. Both coordinators looked at the screen but only Dawn let out a sigh of relief. Since she had more points left, she was victorious.

"And the winner is Dawn with her milotic!" Vivian announced.

"You did it! Thank you, Milotic!" Dawn said as she hugged her pokémon.

"You've done well. It seems I still have much to learn," Sabine told her pokémon. With a nod she walked off, leaving Dawn to her new ribbon, which was presented to her by Mr. Contesta.

"Take this ribbon as a symbol of your victory today. It is well deserved." She took it but there was something else she wanted to do.

"Thank you, sir. Could I please say something to the audience?" she asked him.

"Of course!" He handed her a microphone. "Here you go."

"Thank you." She cleared her throat. "I'm not very good at this. I just wanted to thank you for your support. I don't know if Milotic would have had the self-confidence to evolve today without you cheering her on. So thank you. You are awesome."

The crowd erupted into even more cheers before Vivian spoke up again.

"So another contest comes to an end. But first there is something Mr. Contesta wants to announce." Everyone went silent and looked at the judge. This also caught Dawn's attention.

"This is about the Wallace Cup. You may have already heard the rumours that it will take place in Unova this year." Now it was completely silent. "It is true. It will be held at Castelia City in exactly three months. There will be a press conference today about this. So if you want to learn more, be sure to watch it on the usual channel at four pm. Thank you for your attention."

Now this had a huge impact. While everyone was talking excitedly about the announcement, Dawn went backstage to meet up with Zoey.

"Did you hear that? So it's true! We'll meet everyone again!" Dawn could barely contain her joy. "I'll meet Ash again!"

"Relax! It's still three months, you know?" Zoey tried to calm her down. "We should watch the press conference to get more information."

"Sure! I can't wait." Zoey just rolled her eyes. Her friend was way too excited about this. However, she couldn't deny that she was also excited. She even postponed her gym battle so that she wouldn't miss the conference.

When it was time, a crowd has already gathered in front of the television in the pokémon center, Dawn and Zoey among them. It showed Wallace and Mr. Contesta sitting across dozens of journalists.

"Can you give us more details about the Wallace Cup?" one of them asked.

"It will be held at Castelia City in exactly three months. We had an old musical hall renovated for the contest. It will feature two large pools," Mr. Contesta told them.

"It will follow the usual rules. The Aqua Ribbon counts towards the grand festivals in each region so we hope to see a lot of attendants," Wallace added.

"Why did you choose Unova this time instead of another region?" another journalist inquired.

"Unova is still unknown to many trainers and coordinators despite a lot of unique pokémon living there. It is one of our goals to encourage people to visit Unova so that it gets the attention it deserves," Wallace explained.

"But the main reason is to establish contest there," Mr. Contesta said. "While they are common in our regions, many people in Unova have never heard of them. We are sure that they will enjoy the beauty and excitement of contests just as much as we do."

"Will there be more contests after the Wallace cup?" a journalist asked.

"We certainly hope so. If it turns out to be a success, we will work hard to make sure that more professional contest will be held. It may take some time till there will be an official grand festival though," Mr. Contesta answered.

"In order to make it a success, we ask everyone who feels up to the challenge to come to Unova and participate. Therefore there is a discount on voyages to Unova for everyone who has a valid contest pass," the top coordinator told the journalists. "In order to provide a wonderful show, we need a lot of talented participants."

It went on like that for nearly an hour. They continued to talk about things like time scheludes, housing and more things about Unova itself.

When it was over, Zoey went to the gym right away without much talking. There was still a lot of time for that later. Dawn accompanied her to watch and support her friend. They got there just in time as the gym leader, Roxanne, was about to close it for the day, having just shown some students a few real battles. In the end she agreed on battling Zoey right away if her students could watch as well.

The battle field was a rocky terrain. The assistant explained the rules.

"It will be a two on two match. Only the challenger is allowed to substitute pokémon. Battle begin!" he announced.

"Leafeon, it's your turn!" Zoey chose the grass type first.

"Graveler, show them the strength or rocks!" Roxanne exclaimed. "The challenger gets the first move."

"Alright, use magical leaf!" Zoey commanded.

"Dodge it by using dig!" Graveler got into a hole and reappeared directly behind Leafeon. "Use stone edge!"

"Counter with razor leaf!" The leaves sliced the rocks and damaged Graveler. It was an extremely effective move but the rock type's defense was strong.

"Use earthquake!" Graveler stomped on the ground, creating a shockwave.

"Magical leaf!" The leaves flew up high, hitting Leafeon's opponent from above. Because of the attack, Leafeon couldn't dodge the earthquake though, which knocked her back. "Finish it with leaf blade!" Zoey knew that Graveler couldn't take much more. Roxanne also knew this and waited until Leafeon got closer.

"Explosion!" The rock type glowed shortly in a white light before a massive explosion shook the battlefield, knocking it out. Leafeon was damaged heavily but could continue.

"Graveler is unable to battle. Leafeon is the winner," the assistant announced.

"Thank you, Graveler." Roxanne turned to Zoey. "Your leafeon is tough. But now it's your turn, Nosepass!"

"Leafeon, return. You did a great job. Gastrodon, go!" Zoey had heard that Nosepass could use some dangerous electric moves, which were useless against the sea slug pokémon.

"Interesting. You chose a ground type. Very smart," Roxanne remarked. "But you will find out that we have a counter for that as well. Use hidden power!" The orbs hit Gastrodon and they hit it hard. Obviously they were grass type.

"Gastrodon, use muddy water!" The wave coming at Nosepass also blocked the view on Zoey's pokémon.

"Use protect!" It washed over the rock type without having any effect. Then it saw that its opponent has already used hydro pump. It tried to use protect again but it failed this time so it was knocked away by the water. Despite the damage it still got up again.

"Use hidden power again!" Once more, it shot the light blue orbs at Gastrodon.

"Counter it with surf!" The wave absorbed the orbs and crashed into Nosepass who couldn't react in time. As a result it was hit by another super effective move, causing it to faint.

"Nosepass is unable to battle. Victory goes to the challenger!" the assistant shouted.

"Well done, Gastrodon," Zoey said. It was actually more difficult than she thought.

"Don't worry, you did your best," Roxanne told her pokémon before turning to her challenger and presenting her the Stone Badge. "Congratulations. Your badge is well deserved."

"Thank you. I hope you students learned a bit from that battle," she remarked.

"Don't worry about that. They're smart ones," the gym leader replied.

Soon Dawn and Zoey were on their way back to the pokémon center. Dawn was a bit disappointed because the match was shorter than she expected but she was happy for her friend nonetheless.

"Gym battles are exciting aren't they?" she asked her rival on the way back. Dawn seemed different somehow.

"I can't deny that. They're also more difficult than I thought," Zoey replied.

"Yes, that's why we have to get stronger. With enough training nothing will stop us." Zoey shook her head.

"Are you alright? You're acting strange ever since we left Meteor Falls." She was a bit worried.

"Really? I don't think so. It's just that I'm a bit more enthusiastic ever since Feebas evolved. I feel like I could beat Cynthia right now," Dawn said.

"That's probably it." But Zoey wasn't convinced. She felt that there was something else, that the confidence was just a mask but she decided not to push it right now. With enough time it would probably go away.

When they arrived, nurse Joy gave them two small packages. She said that an old man with a long, white beard left them there. He told her that they contain a reward for some recent actions. The coordinators had no idea who this man was or what actions he meant but they took his presents anyway and opened them in their room.

Dawn's contained a sun stone whereas Zoey's had a razor claw in it.

"Wow, whoever that man is, he knows a lot about us. I've been looking for a razor fang ever since I arrived in Hoenn," Zoey told Dawn.

"Really? You never told me. For which pokémon is it?" she asked.

"You'll find out during the next contest. I don't want to spoil the surprise," Zoey replied with a grin. "Why don't you evolve Gloom right now? You said she couldn't wait."

"Good idea. I'll be right back," she said as she left the room.

A few minutes later she came back with Gloom's pokéball in her hand.

"Gloom, we have a surprise for you!" Dawn shouted as she called out her pokémon. Gloom's face lit up instantly when she saw the sun stone in her trainer's hand. "Can't wait, eh? Here you go."

She gave the stone to the weed pokémon. Only a few seconds later, it was over already with Bellossom was now dancing with joy. Dawn had to admit that she looked much cuter now. And with enough training, she would become much stronger as well.

Their next contest was in Verdanturf Town. It was also Dawn's last one before the Wallace Cup. After it, she would return to Sinnoh shortly before going to Unova.

* * *

><p><strong>You can probably guess who this 'old man' is. <strong>


	18. Chapter 18

**Disclaimer: I don't own Pokémon or its characters.**

* * *

><p><span>Chapter 18: Leaving Hoenn<span>

Dawn and Zoey were on their way to Vedanturf Town. Despite the beautiful weather, the company she had and the prospect of getting her fifth ribbon, Dawn had an extremely bad feeling. She has been having horrible nightmares since her victory at the last contest. They were usually about her friends and family getting killed right in front of her by Hawk. Then he ripped her clothes off. Fortunately, she always woke up before he could do anything else. Nevertheless, those nightmares scared her, to say the least. And because of them she always felt being watched.

_I think a zubat is following us. Could it be on of theirs_? _Or am I just getting paranoid?_ she thought_. I'm glad that I'll be back in Sinnoh soon. But they're also there so it doesn't really help. I hope the situation in Unova is better. No matter, I'll be safe with Ash. I just know he'll protect me from any harm. But it also makes me a bit sad to leave Zoey behind. She will probably stay to win her last ribbons. When should I tell her? After the contest would be best. I hope she won't get mad at me. No, that doesn't sound like Zoey at all._

Unbeknownst to her, Zoey had similar nightmares and like Dawn, she tried to act normally. It was her problem and nobody else's, she always told herself. So she had to deal with it herself. That didn't stop her worrying about her friend, though.

When Dawn heard a rustling in a nearby tree, she winced at the sudden noise.

"What's wrong?" Zoey asked.

"I don't know. I have a feeling that we're being watched," she told her. "That we're being followed."

"Oh come on. We would have noticed if someone was after us. You're just imagining things." Zoey waved it off.

"Maybe you're right," Dawn mumbled. She wasn't convinced though as she has seen a zubat in the distance a few times.

* * *

><p>"Zubat, hide in the third tree ahead of you," an older woman spoke into a microphone. She had braided green hair, light blue eyes and was wearing a black uniform, similar to those of Hawk and Viper. Her room was dark with her staring at the only screen in front of her. It showed a redhead and a blunette.<p>

"What's wrong?" the redhead asked.

"I don't know. I have a feeling that we're being watched. That we're being followed," the one with blue hair answered.

The woman smirked. This project turned out to be a huge success. Thanks to the special devices she could see and hear the same things as her pokémon. Then she noticed something hiding in another tree. A closer look revealed it to be two haunter with red glowing eyes. Just like zubat, they seemed to follow the coordinators.

"That's strange. There shouldn't be any of our haunter following them," she mumbled. "I should tell the boss about this. He won't like it at all."

Before she could call him, someone else entered her room. It was a younger man with grey eyes, black hair and a ponytail, wearing the same uniform.

"The results from the water and steel types have just arrived. Boss wants you work on the weaknesses," he told her.

"It's always me. If Hawk and Viper weren't stupid as hell…," she complained. "Anyway, show them to me." She turned on a light to see have a closer look.

"Phoenix should send his report soon," the man added.

"Wonderful, even more work," she remarked before putting a pair of glasses. "Let's see … scald and water pulse are D1, the rest D0. Flash cannon D2, metal sound D1, rest D0. We could probably fix the problem with scald by making the devices more resistant to heat. The problems with metal sound and water pulse will probably go away with a more robust design. But I don't know what we could do about flash cannon," she mumbled.

"So what should I tell the boss?" he asked.

"Tell him that I'll work on it. But he shouldn't expect any miracles. And also tell him that I could work much better if I had some competent assistants and not only dumb idiots to work with," she retorted.

"Hey, don't be so aggressive," he replied, waving his hand in front of him.

"Sorry. It's just that all this work is getting on my nerves," she explained with a sigh. "I really need a long break."

Another man entered the room, carrying an envelope.

"Sir, commander Phoenix asked me to give you this." He handed it to the other man before he left the room again.

"Thank you." He looked at it shortly before passing it to her. "Seems like he had more to do than the guys with the water and steel moves."

"Oh dear, nearly every move is at least D1. Blast burn, eruption, heat wave and magma storm are even D2," she cried. "At least heat resistance will help with most of these. Tell the boss that it should be our top priority. Otherwise nearly every fire move might destroy them."

"Understood." He nodded and went to the door. "Good luck, Rose."

"Yeah, you too," she replied, not really paying attention.

After a brief pause she returned to the screen. The girls were already gone.

"Really wonderful," she muttered. "Those things are useless without someone to control them."

* * *

><p>Even when they arrived in Vedanturf Town, Dawn didn't really feel safe although she acted more calmly. Only during the training did Zoey notice something. Dawn was more cautious, taking absolutely no risk. She made a remark about it several times and Dawn apologized every time but after a short time she returned to her cautious ways so Zoey didn't bother trying anymore.<p>

During the contest, however, she was normal again. It was like being in the contest hall made her feel safer. Together with her pokémon she watched the appeals. Soon it was Zoey's turn.

"Weavile! Curtain!" Dawn immediately thought of the razor claw. Zoey needed it to evolve her sneasel into a weavile.

"Use hail and ice beam!" The sharp claw pokémon unleashed a snow storm before creating one giant pillar of ice by repeatedly using ice beam.

"Now swords dance, agility and metal claw!" Weavile's claws glowed in a purple light as he swirled them. Then he started to cut the ice with incredible speed and power. As he got faster and faster, his image started to blur while the ice was starting to look more like him. In the end a perfect statue of Weavile was standing there. He wasn't finished yet though.

"Use metal claw again!" It slashed at the ice once more. This time, however, it had no visible effect, so the statue was still standing there when Weavile finished, striking a pose in front of it. Suddenly the claws of the statue fell off, one after another. Soon the arms followed, falling off in perfectly sliced rings. Then the head dropped to the ground, breaking into a dozen parts with the rest of the statue falling apart right after.

Needless to say, everyone was impressed with Weavile's speed and flawless precision.

Dawn had no time to think about it though as she was next.

"Vulpix! Spotlight!" Her appeal was based on the observations she made during her capture of the fox pokémon.

"Use sunny day and fire spin!" A glowing orb appeared above the stage, boosting fire moves. Because of that, the vortex of fire created by the fire spin was bigger than normal.

"Dark pulse!" She hit the center of the vortex with the dark type move, turning the flames purple. "Get in there!" As usual, the flames activated her flash fire ability but this time, instead of glowing red, her body glowed purple with the hair on her head and the tails resembling blazing flames.

"Now flamethrower!" The small pokémon released a massive stream of purple fire at the ground, intensifying the fire spin even more.

A few flamethrowers later it looked like a tornado for a short time before finally subsiding with Vulpix turning back to normal.

The judges liked the flashy appearance and the immense power of her moves.

Dawn and Zoey didn't talk a lot this time. Both of them were too focused on the next battles. While Dawn wanted to get her last ribbon, Zoey tried to catch up with her. They simply congratulated each other when they saw that they both passed the appeals round. The other coordinators weren't really much of a challenge for them. Most of them either went down quickly or they lost because their moves lacked power. It was only a matter of time until Dawn and Zoey would meet.

In the end, the winner would be decided in the finale.

"Vulpix! Spotlight! One more time!" Dawn shouted.

"Let's win this! Curtain, Weavile! Start with agility!" The top coordinator knew that her pokémon had a type disadvantage so she wanted to end it as quickly as possible.

"Use will-o-wisp!" Weavile, however, was too fast for the attack and dodged with ease before preparing his counter.

"Night slash!" Vulpix was hit several times by the pokémon without any chance of retaliation. Weavile, on the other hand, used every chance to show off his speed and precision. For a while, Dawn couldn't find a counter but then she had an idea.

"Use fire spin and get in!" Similar to her appeal, but without the dark pulse, Vulpix got trapped inside her own fire spin. When Weavile attacked her again, his claws got burned by the flames surrounding her.

"We don't need melee attacks to do damage. Use blizzard!" The icy storm was neutralized by the flames before it could reach Vulpix. "Alright, try ice beam!"

"Flamethrower!" The fire move quickly overpowered the ice move, nearly hitting Weavile who dodged just in time. "Use it again!" The sharp claw pokémon turned out to be too fast though. He dodged every single attack effortlessly, decreasing her points every time. "Use it while spinning!" With help from the flash fire, she managed to cover the whole stage, hitting her fragile opponent. "Now fire blast!" Since he was still recovering, Weavile couldn't dodge the powerful fire move in time. Despite the damage, he still got up again. "Use flamethrower once more!" But now the fire spin ended and Zoey saw her chance.

"Finish it with night slash! Full power!" Before Vulpix could attack, he slashed her with all his strength, causing her to faint.

"Vulpix has fainted so Zoey is the winner of the Vedanturf contest! Congratulations!" Vivian announced.

Dawn was sad that she couldn't win this time but she was also proud of her pokémon.

"You fought well. Have a good rest," she told her pokémon as she recalled her.

"Well done, Weavile. You deserve a nice, long rest." Nobody, not even Zoey, noticed that just when Zoey recalled her pokémon, he fainted. The fire blast has taken its toll, after all.

"Congratulations!" Dawn said to Zoey. "Seems like I don't get my fifth ribbon as soon as I've hoped."

"You really made a nice comeback though," she replied. "Nearly got me there. But let's talk about it later."

Zoey got her well-earned, fourth ribbon from Mr. Contesta. When they met outside right after the ceremony, Dawn was ready to tell her friend about her plans.

"Zoey, I've decided to return to Sinnoh now. I'll teleport to Slateport City and take the next ship," she said.

"Really?" She could hardly believe it. "But only have four ribbons. What about the fifth?"

"Well, there's still the Wallace Cup. And if I fail, I can still go back to Hoenn right after to win the last one," her rival explained. "There's enough time for that."

"Still it's a bit risky. Why do you want to leave Hoenn so early?" she asked sceptically.

"Well … I think you deserve to know the truth." Some bad memories returned. "I … have felt unsafe ever since that Hawk guy swore revenge. So I want to get to Unova as quickly as possible. Aren't you afraid at all?"

"A bit, yes," Zoey admitted. "But if they really want to get you, it won't matter where are."

"Maybe you're right. But I won't change my mind now. Eevee has already been waiting long enough. So you'll stay and get your fifth ribbon?" Dawn asked.

"Yes, I will." She sighed. "So I guess it's time to say goodbye for now?"

"I guess so. I don't really like saying goodbye after travelling with someone for such a long time and I'm not very good at this," Dawn explained. "So … thank you for everything. We'll meet at the Wallace Cup. And then we'll have the best battle of our lives, right?"

"Count on it," Zoey replied with a grin. "It was fun having you around. Good luck!"

They hugged when they suddenly heard a noise nearby but couldn't find the source.

"That's strange. I have a feeling that someone's watching us again. Or am I just being paranoid?" Dawn asked a bit unsure. "Ah, forget it. Espeon, come on out!" The sun pokémon looked at her curiously. "The time has come."

"I see," Espeon told her telepathically. She offered a paw which Zoey shook.

"Piplup, say goodbye to Zoey too!" Dawn said to her partner. He hugged her left leg before returning to his mistress. Something was wrong with him but Dawn was too lost in thoughts to notice.

"Bye, Dawn. Take care," Zoey said finally.

"You too, Zoey. Bye." Dawn turned to Espeon. "Teleport us to Slateport City!" With a bright flash they disappeared.

* * *

><p>"That's strange. I have a feeling that someone's watching us again. Or am I just being paranoid?" the blue haired girl on the screen said.<p>

"It isn't paranoia if you're really being watched," Rose mumbled. She observed the two coordinators a bit longer until Dawn teleported away. She called for another member of her organization. "You know what to do. Keep track of that redhead. I have other things to take care of." Just in that moment, the black haired man entered again. "What is it this time, Bones? More work?"

"Not this time. The boss just wants you to hurry up. Viper and Phoenix are ready for Operation Full Moon but they need more robust devices," he explained.

"They don't need them! Why don't they use the ones they already have?" she asked. "They can control legendaries just as well."

"They don't want to install an older model just to replace it with a better one later," Bones told her.

"They're just lazy, that's what they are," she complained. "I'll do my best anyway."

"Boss wants you to go back to Sinnoh for that," he added. "He wants to help you personally,"

"Oh, finally some competent support. I'm tired of working with those useless dimwits." She sighed. "I will leave immediately."

* * *

><p>Dawn took the next ship as planned. Although she was sad about travelling alone again, it was nothing compared to Ash's departure. Her first destination was home. Then she would have to go Eterna Forest with its moss rock. She also was intent on visiting some people she met during her Sinnoh journey and catching new pokémon.<p>

And after all that she would be off to Unova.

* * *

><p>Looker entered a big room, which was full of politicians and high ranking members of the police. It was his duty to give a report about the new organization terrorizing the different regions. For that, he prepared a small presentation.<p>

"Ladies and Gentleman! I'll get straight to the point. I've been working on this for quite a long time. Here's everything we know." He waited for everyone to become silent before he continued. "They call their organization Galactic Hunters. At least that's what they called it some weeks ago. Many of its members used to work for Team Galactic and Hunter J so that's probably its origin."

A picture of an older woman with green braided hair appeared on a wall.

"We managed to get some information on its leadership. While the real leader is still unknown, we know that there are five commanders. This is commander Rose, the oldest of them and former scientist of Team Galactic. She's not only a genius in science but also an able trainer using various complex strategies to win her battles. Her favourite type seems to be grass. Her known pokémon are Roserade, Tropius and Carnivine. Not much is known about her past, except that she was called crazy because of very … unusual ideas. Out of all the commanders, she is the least violent one," Looker told the others before changing the picture. This time it was Hawk's.

"Commander Hawk is a ruthless murderer. He doesn't care about morals or the life of others, only money is important to him. He also seems to have an unhealthy obsession with revenge. Unfortunately, he is a good trainer with strong pokémon. That's why he was a high ranking member of Hunter J's organization. We could identify his pokémon, which are all flying type: Crobat, Skarmory, Xatu, Ninjask, Honchkrow and Staraptor." The picture changed again to a bald man with a weird expression.

"This is Viper. There isn't much to tell about him, except that he's a sadist and a psycho. Among all the commanders, he has the most twisted personality. Fortunately, he's also the weakest. He uses poison types: Seviper, Venusaur, Drapion, Nidoking, Ariados and Toxicroak." The next one was a young man with a ponytail.

"This is Bones, probably the youngest commander and successor of Shark. We don't know very much about him as he keeps a low profile. However, we discovered that he uses ground types like Marowak and Steelix. It's also possible that he's a former member of Team Rocket but we couldn't confirm it." The picture changed to a shadowy image.

"Commander Phoenix is still a mystery. We know nothing about him." The picture disappeared again. "As you may already know, they have constructed devices, which allowed them to control any pokémon. It has given them an enormous advantage over Team Rocket, using captured pokémon against their former masters. Team Rocket has been crumbling since the Galactic Hunters sent higher ranking members to the other regions. They're losing ground, even in Kanto.  
>Our fight against them has been ineffective at best. While we managed to arrest some petty poachers or thugs, we couldn't find a major base. Until now …"<p>

* * *

><p><strong>Not exactly my favourite chapter. The part in Sinnoh will be done in one chapter. The meaning of D0, D1, D2 will be explained later.<strong>


	19. Chapter 19

**Maylene's Lucario is female in this story. **

**Disclaimer: I don't own Pokémon or its characters.**

* * *

><p><span>Chapter 19: Memories are Pearls<span>

One more hour to wait. One more hour until the ship would finally leave Sandgem Town. Dawn could hardly wait to explore Unova. As much as she wanted to see Ash and the others again, she decided to travel through the new region for a while, catch pokémon, teach new moves and become stronger. She simply didn't feel ready to face him yet.

Since the waiting was getting on her nerves, she started to think about her journey so far. It sure was different without Ash but she thought that in the end she didn't fare too badly. That was also thanks to her pokémon. Her old ones were stronger than ever and the new ones allowed many different strategies. Some of them have always been obedient while others made some problems at first. But she loved all of them.

Zoey has been a good friend to Dawn, supporting her whenever she could. She was also the only one she told about her crush on Ash. Hopefully, she would help Dawn with her feelings during the Wallace Cup. Kenny behaved rather strange. Dawn couldn't decide what he actually wanted. Of course it never came to her mind that he might have a crush on her. But at least he started to forget about her nickname when he noticed that she didn't get annoyed anymore.

And finally, she thought about Ash. Despite being in a far away region, he was there when she needed him, always finding the right words.

She could hardly believe that it has been only a month since she arrived in Sinnoh. The first thing she did was to visit her mother. Dawn groaned when she remembered all the teasing.

[Flashback]

"Mom, I'm home," Dawn shouted as she entered her home.

"Already? But you didn't tell me and as far as I know, you have only four ribbons." Johanna was surprised to say the least.

"Come to think of it, I didn't call you very often lately even though I promised to keep in touch. I'm sorry." Dawn scratched the back of her head in embarrassment.

"It's okay, dear. You're getting more independent. But tell me, what are you doing here already?" she asked.

"Well, I have some things to do in Sinnoh and I want to prepare for the Wallace Cup in Unova," Dawn explained. "Have you heard about it?"

"Of course! Everybody is talking about it. Ash is in Unova right now, isn't he?" Johanna asked with a sly grin.

"Uhm, yes, why do you ask?" Her daughter had a bad feeling.

"So that's why you take so much time to prepare for it. You want to impress him, don't you?" she teased.

"What? No! I want to get the ribbon!" Dawn blushed heavily.

"Don't even try to deny it. So what are you planning?" Her daughter just shook her head.

"Stop it! Why do mothers always have to tease their kids?" Dawn asked with a groan.

"You'll understand when you and Ash have kids." That was enough for her.

"MOM!" Dawn was blushing madly. "I can't believe you said that. I'm going to my room!"

"Alright, but dinner will be ready in ten minutes," her mother added as if nothing happened.

[End of flashback]

Dawn shook her head. It went on like that for the rest of the day. But despite her mother's playful attitude, she also gave her some serious advice on how to deal with those kinds of feelings. Additionally, she made the best food she has eaten for months. So Dawn was kind of sad when she left again the next day.

The next destination was Eterna Forest. Time went by quickly and before she knew it, she was already there. In the end she found more than just the moss rock.

[Flashback]

It was already getting dark when Dawn finally found it. Of course, she called out Eevee immediately. Before he could get to it, however, a haunter's hand grabbed his feet, causing him to fall. It continued to annoy the evolution pokémon with its jokes until he had enough. He started a fight with a shadow ball and the ghost type fought back. Due to Eevee being a normal type, haunter had to fight using mainly confuse ray and hypnosis, which annoyed him but didn't cause any real trouble so, in the end, Dawn's pokémon defeated the ghost type. During the fight he dropped his everstone to the ground.

The evolution started right after the battle. Dawn was happy for Leafeon to finally have achieved his dream. Unbeknownst to them, the haunter fled and got help. They only noticed when numerous ghost types were surrounding them with one gengar leading the group. Espeon translated for Dawn.

"She asks why we're trespassing her land and attacking her minions?" the sun pokémon told her.

"HER land? It doesn't belong to her. And that haunter attacked us first," Dawn replied.

"She says that it's her land. Apparently, she calls herself the 'Queen of the forest'. She also claims that Haunter just wanted to play," Espeon said.

"Well, Leafeon wanted to evolve so we had to get here." Dawn folded her arms. "Besides, if haunter just wanted to play, it could have told us in a non-aggressive way."

"Oh dear, she wants to punish us for everything we've done." Dawn got ready for a fight.

"Leafeon, show her your strength!" The verdant pokémon nodded.

However, Gengar easily defeated Leafeon and also Froslass after a hard fight, but Absol was too much for her. During the battles, Dawn decided to catch her because of her impressive speed and power. The rest of the ghost types fled when their leader was captured.

[End of flashback]

Dawn had to admit that she was worried when they were surrounded by all those ghost types. But in the end, everything went well. She got a new pokémon and Leafeon was happy. It turned out that Gengar wasn't really a queen. Although she was the strongest ghost type in the forest, she rarely used the strength to fight. Instead she played tricks on travelers.

There was still one problem, though. The nightmares just wouldn't leave her alone. On the contrary, they got worse and worse. Near Veilstone City, they finally took their toll.

[Flashback]

Dawn hasn't been feeling well lately. The lack of good sleep left her extremely exhausted and despite her best efforts to hide it, her pokémon could see it now. Piplup and Buneary were out of their pokéballs, looking at their trainer with worried faces when it happened. Dawn simply collapsed to the ground, completely unconscious. While Buneary tried to get some help, Piplup called out the other pokémon to protect his trainer. Fortunately, Buneary found someone.

Dawn woke up a few hours later. Although she didn't have any nightmares this time, she was shocked to find herself in an unknown bed. Just when she was about to get up, a hand gently pushed her back.

"Maylene!" Dawn exclaimed. "And Lucario! What are you doing here? Where am I?"

"Relax. You're at the Veilstone gym. Everything's all right now," Maylene tried to calm her down.

"What happened?" she asked.

"It seems you fell unconscious while traveling to Veilstone City. Buneary found us during our training in the wilderness and we brought you here," the gym leader explained. "But the real question is: What caused the unconsciousness?"

"Well, I haven't slept very well lately." But Maylene wasn't fooled that easily.

"Come on, that can't be everything," she inquired.

"It is! I've had nightmares." Dawn simply stated.

"That's all?" Maylene asked incredulously.

"Horrible nightmares. Nightmares of death and destruction," the coordinator explained. "I can't get any rest like that."

"They're that bad?" She couldn't really imagine that nightmares could prevent her from getting enough rest.

"Yes, I don't know what to do about them." Dawn tried to stand up. "Thank you for your help but I should probably go now. I don't want to bother you."

"You won't go anywhere today!" Maylene pushed her back. "Besides, it's already getting dark. So you'll spend the night here. No buts."

"Fine. But only one night." She didn't really have a choice now.

It was nearly midnight, when Lucario felt something strange during her meditation. It was a pokémon move and it was coming from Dawn's room. She rushed there and opened the door only to see Dawn moving in bed with a painful expression. But there was something else hiding in the shadows. Even though it was nearly impossible to see, Lucario could feel its aura. She shot a dark pulse at it, which shattered something before everything was silent again. The aura pokémon looked around for a while but only found a red material lying on the floor. Since she couldn't feel anything dangerous anymore, she went back to meditating but she stayed in Dawn's room just to be safe. Dawn's expression has softened, indicating that the nightmares were gone.

When she woke up, she was already feeling a lot better. Maylene and Lucario were standing beside her bed, waiting for her to get up.

"What are you doing here already? Did something happen?" Dawn asked, yawning.

"Lucario told me that a pokémon was here and used nightmare on you while you were sleeping. When she shot a dark pulse at it, something was destroyed." She showed her a red material in her hands. "Do you have an explanation for that?"

"Wait, that stuff looks familiar." Her eyes widened. "Oh no, it's them."

"Who? You can tell me, you know." Dawn knew she was right.

"Okay, but it's a long story." Maylene and Lucario were eager to hear her story.

So she told Maylene about everything that happened with the Galactic Hunters. The gym leader was shocked to hear what they were capable of, controlling pokémon with strange devices and even torturing someone by creating nightmares.

"Can I help you somehow? Wait, I know!" She whispered something in Lucario's ear and got a nod in return. "I'll be right back," she told Dawn.

A bit later she returned with a black and blue egg.

"This is for you. It should help you greatly against those bastards." She handed it right to Dawn.

"What kind of egg is it?" She already had an idea but she wanted to make sure it was right.

"A riolu will hatch from it. It will be able to sense danger, warning you in time and it can protect you from things like these nightmares." So she was right. Maybe it was even Lucario's egg!

"I … I can't accept that. This is too much." Even though she really wanted to have a riolu, she didn't really feel that she deserved this.

"Yes, you can! We're friends, aren't we? And you'll need everything you can get to protect yourself from those guys." Maylene wouldn't give up that easily.

It took her a while but in the end she managed to convince Dawn to accept the gift.

[End of flashback]

Dawn took the egg out of her bag, looking at it fondly. It was a truly generous gift and she was already looking forward to having a riolu. It would also make her feel a lot safer.

After the end of the nightmares, Dawn noticed that Piplup seemed a bit down. With the help of Espeon she had a talk with him. He revealed to be unsure whether to evolve. He really liked Milotic but ever since she evolved, he has been feeling small and weak, unworthy of her affection. The fact that his long-term rival had evolved into Typhlosion didn't help either. On the other hand, he liked being Piplup and the prospect of evolving just to become stronger hurt his pride.

Dawn simply told him to follow his heart. It was his decision to make and as his trainer, she would support him either way. After a long talk he decided not to evolve until his trainer has become a top coordinator with him as Piplup.

Dawn's next destination was Mr. Backlot's mansion. She had heard that he got a lot of new pokémon and she also wanted him andMonica to see how strong Mamoswine, whom she captured there as Swinub, has become.

[Flashback]

A scizor was waiting at the entrance to the mansion. It challenged Dawn to a one on one battle, asking her to capture it if she won. The coordinator was surprised by this highly unusual behaviour but complied nonetheless. Since Scizor's only weakness was fire, she called out Vulpix as she didn't have Typhlosion with her. Despite the type advantage, it was an extremely difficult battle but in the end, Scizor was defeated and captured. Vulpix wasn't happy, though. Espeon told Dawn what she had to say.

"She wants a fire stone." Obviously, Vulpix didn't like beating around the bush.

"What? Why all of sudden?" Dawn asked.

"She still is ashamed of her loss at the last contest. And she doesn't want it to happen again." Vulpix looked absolutely serious.

"Alright, if she wants this, I will do everything I can to get a fire stone." As a reply, Vulpix tackled Dawn to the ground, licking her face. "Hey, I don't have it yet," she said while laughing. "We should go inside now."

They were greeted by Monica and Mr. Backlot. Both of them were surprised to see that their little swinub has become a powerful mamoswine. They showed Dawn the new pokémon staying at the mansion and it was more than she would have ever imagined. There were pokémon of nearly every type, including some who aren't native to the area or even Sinnoh.

"So many pokémon. Where do they come from?" Monica's and Mr. Backlot's expressions immediately darkened.

"There was a … brutal pokémon thief hunting in this area. He killed a lot of trainers but some pokémon managed to escape and we took them in," Monica explained.

"Oh no! Is he still out there?" Dawn asked.

"No, he isn't. In the end, he killed a trainer whose pokémon were outraged by his death. The murderer was literally shred to pieces by them. It's been quite again ever since," Mr. Backlot told her. "At least the pokémon have someone who takes care of them. I love them just like the others."

"And what about that scizor that challenged me to a battle in front of the mansion?" She thought that it maybe belonged to the others.

"His trainer was one of the first to get killed," Monica said with a sad look. "He wanted a new one but only if that trained proved to be worthy. So he tested the trainers and if they didn't manage to defeat him with their first pokémon, he would simply flee."

"Well, not anymore. I caught him," Dawn replied proudly.

"I'm glad that he finally found someone. Maybe it'll help him forget the tragic loss of his first trainer," Mr. Backlot answered with hope in his voice.

"I'll do my best." She was determined to make him happy again.

[End of flashback]

Dawn helped them with their pokémon for the rest of the day, making poffins and playing with them. Then it was time to get that fire stone she promised to Vulpix. At first she tried to buy one at the Veilstone Department Store. Unfortunately, they didn't have any evolutionary stones but they told her where to find them: Oreburgh City. Apart from fossils, people could also find stones, heart scales and more. So Espeon teleported her back to Jubilife City from where it was only a short trip to Oreburgh City.

[Flashback]

When she arrived, she immediately got some mining equipment, starting as soon as she could. She got help from Buneary's rock smash, Piplup's brick break and Pachirisu's iron tail as she wasn't very suited for that kind of activity. At the beginning, they found absolutely nothing but after a while Piplup saw something strange between some rocks. Further digging revealed it to be a fossil. Although it wasn't exactly what Dawn anticipated, she was happy about it nonetheless and sent for Roark immediately.

"Is this your first time digging here?" the gym leader asked her. She nodded. "You don't know how lucky you are. Let's get it to the museum."

With the help of some other workers, they dug it up completely before taking it to the museum to put it together. It was the fossil of a bipedal pokémon with a slim body, flat head and sickles instead of hands.

"A real fossil of a kabutops," Roark said, admiring the sickles.

"That's a rock type, isn't it? What are you going to do with it?" Dawn asked curiously.

"I should be asking you that. You found it, after all. Maybe you want us to revive it?" he suggested.

"That would be awesome. I don't have a rock type yet," she answered enthusiastically.

"I knew you would like it. Alright, let's do this." Roark shouted.

Dawn had no idea how a machine could turn fossils into living pokémon but she didn't care right now. She was speechless when Kabutops came out. Her newest pokémon.

Later she attempted to find a fire stone once more but this time she only found a thunder stone. She still got a the desired object, though, as there were many people looking for different stones with one offering a fire stone for Dawn's thunder stone. Needless to say, Vulpix was overjoyed when she got it. After the evolution, Dawn had to admit that Vulpix wasn't cute anymore, she was utterly beautiful and her pokémon saw it the same way. Neither of them regretted having done this.

Kabutops, on the other hand, caused some problems at first. He doubted Dawn's abilities as a trainer but a quick battle with Scizor convinced him otherwise. She gained his respect and was sure that he'd prove to be a valuable team member.

[End of flashback]

Finally the ship started to move. Soon, she would be in Unova.

"Ash, everybody, I'm coming," she whispered.

* * *

><p>Meanwhile in Unova, a boy was looking for a gift.<p>

"No, this isn't right at all. It has to be something more special," he mumbled as he looked at different things.

"Are you done yet?" a purple-haired girl asked him impatiently.

"I just can't find anything suitable, Iris," he answered, not really paying attention.

"Wow, Ash, that girl must mean a lot to you," she remarked.

"What? I'm getting a gift for everyone so that's nothing special," he replied.

"But you didn't take that long for the other presents." It was true. He found the other gifts rather quickly.

"That's because it's easier to find something for them," he countered. Iris just sighed.

"Do you think he likes that Dawn girl?" she whispered to Cilan.

"Well, I've never seen him act like that and he's been talking a lot about her lately. And from what I've heard, they sound like a good match. But even if he does, I doubt that he realizes it," he said, recalling everything he knew about them.

"Yeah, he's such a kid. Maybe we should do something about it?" she suggested.

"We first have to meet her, right? Better think about it later." He was already looking forward to getting to know more about them.

"Oh, that reminds me." Iris turned back to Ash. "Hey, that Brock guy called you this morning. He wants to talk to you about something. He said it's extremely important."

"And why haven't you told me earlier?" he asked a bit angrily, still not taking his eyes off potential gifts.

"Have you already forgotten that you dragged us here before we could say anything? Geez!" she replied with frustration clear in her voice. "Such a kid."

"This might do," he mumbled, obviously not having listened to her.

* * *

><p>Rose was currently working on a new model which wouldn't cause the pokémons' eyes to glow in that annoying red light. Her thoughts drifted to Hawk, who has been removed from his position because he ignored his orders and sent two haunter after the girls. Only one of them returned after the recall. The boss wasn't happy when he heard about that and she wondered what the consequences might be. Then she got a call.<p>

"Yes? Yes, it is. What?" Her eyes widened. "Impossible! But … someone must have told them. Right away, sir!"

She took a microphone and spoke.

"Attention, everyone. Several bases have been attacked and an attack on this one is very likely. Evacuate immediately! Take only the most necessary things with you! The base will blow up in fifteen minutes!" She took out a key and used it to get access to the self-destruct button, pushing it without hesitation.

They had enough money to build new bases but it was still disturbing. Apparently there was a traitor among them but she didn't really have time to think about it right now. Instead, she sent as much data as she could to their ship. When she was done, she called out a pokémon.

"Exeguttor, use teleport to get us out of here!" With a bright flash they disappeared.

Since every base was unsafe now, she had to get to a secret hideout only she and the other commanders knew about and wait for their stealth ship to pick her up. Even she had to admit that it was an amazing piece of technology. This sudden retreat destroyed a lot of her work but she wouldn't give up on her dream that easily.

* * *

><p><strong>The next chapter will be like a big reunion. Don't expect Ash and Dawn to come together too soon. It won't be easy with enemies (and friends) around. And it will take a lot of time. Chapter 20 will already include the first big obstacle.<br>**


	20. Chapter 20

**Cou could call this chapter bittersweet. It might be a shock for some people. But don't worry, everything will work out in the end.**

**Disclaimer: I don't own Pokémon or its characters.**

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><p><span>Chapter 20: Friendship is a Diamond<span>

There it was: Castelia City. Dawn has spent about one and a half month training for the Wallace Cup and even caught a new pokémon. But now she was ready. Ready to face him. Ready to confess to him. And, of course, ready to win her fifth ribbon. Still, she was nervous. Piplup tried to calm her down with only moderate success.

She and Ash had agreed to meet in the pokémon center over phone. When she arrived, she carefully opened the door just enough to look through, spotting him instantly. He was currently talking to May, Zoey and two persons she didn't know yet.

_Although he is wearing different clothes and looking a bit tired, he's still the same, old Ash_, Dawn thought. _Actually, he looks even stronger and more confident than before. I wonder how he'll react when he sees me?_

Since Zoey was facing the entrance, she was the first to spot the newcomer.

"Hey, look who's there!" she exclaimed happily.

Ash turned around, with his face immediately lighting up when seeing that Dawn has finally arrived. Without much thinking, they ran towards each other, giving each other a high five. Piplup and Pikachu mimicked their trainer's actions. This time, Dawn wanted a bit more so she entwined her fingers around his, which he also did while they were looking into each other's eyes.

_The same beautiful eyes I remember_, he thought. _But she also looks more mature and experienced. I'll probably have to deal with the fact that she doesn't need me as a mentor any more._

"I've missed you so much," she whispered, now hugging him.

"I've missed you too," he said, returning the hug. He was a bit embarrassed, hugging a friend like that, but he liked it a lot. It felt … natural.

"Ahem, I know it's sweet and all, but we're here too, you know?" Iris remarked, causing them to separate with red faces. "Such kids! Anyway, I'm Iris. And you must be Dawn." She shook Dawn's hand.

"Yes, that's right. Ash has told me about you. You want to become a dragon master, don't you?" she asked.

"And I'm on a good way." A pokémon jumped out of her hair. "By the way, this is Axew."

"Does he do that a lot?" Dawn couldn't imagine carrying any pokémon in her hair.

"Oh yes, it's one of his favourite places. I don't mind it." Upon having a closer look at Iris' hair, Dawn wondered how she managed to tame it. Her thoughts were interrupted by a green haired boy clearing his throat.

"You must be Cilan. A pokémon connoisseur if I heard right?" She didn't remember what that actually was, though.

"Correctly. Nice to meet you." He also shook her hand. "That's a remarkable pokémon you have there." He pointed at the penguin pokémon, whom she took in her arms now.

"That's Piplup, my starter pokémon," she told him proudly.

"You seem to be good partners. I would like to have a closer look later. You probably want to greet the others right now." The answer came promptly.

"Damn right she wants," May said before hugging her rival. "Good to see you again. I hope everything went smoothly in Hoenn?"

"Good to see you, too. And don't worry. Traveling though Hoenn was a wonderful experience." She didn't want to discuss the 'less pleasant' parts right now.

"I second that," Zoey added. "It was about time you showed up."

"Hey, I came as soon as I could," Dawn defended herself. "So who else is here?"

"Misty, Brock, Gary and Tracey are relaxing at the beach. All of them don't get too much free time, so they use it to relax as much as they can. Kenny is training somewhere around here. Drew is probably doing the same, "Ash told her. "But tell me about you journey so far? What pokémon did you catch? Which one are going to use for you appeal? How …"

"Ash, calm down. Let me go to the toilet first, ok?" Truth is, meeting him like that was just too much for her, so she wanted to calm down a bit.

"I'm going, too." Zoey added. There was something in her look that Dawn didn't like.

Upon closing the door, she wanted to know what it was about.

"What's wrong?" she just asked. Zoey hesitated.

"Well, I don't really know how to say this. I know it will be a shock to you but please stay calm." Dawn didn't like the sound of this at all. "The thing is … Ash … has a girlfriend."

"W-What?" Dawn whispered. She could feel her heart break while tears were forming in her eyes. Even though it started so well! So much for confessing. She sank to the floor and it took a while for her to be ready to talk again.

"Who is it?" she cried. "Is it Misty? Or May? Or …"

"Am I what?" May, who has just entered, asked.

"May! What are you doing here?" Dawn exclaimed.

"They sent me to check on you since you were taking so long," she explained. "Now what was that about me?"

"I just told her about Ash's relationship and she wondered whether you might be his girlfriend," Zoey told her.

"No, we were never that close. It's Misty." May shook her head. "They have been dating for three weeks now and it's already starting to fall apart."

"What? What do you mean?" Dawn didn't know what to believe. First, he had a girlfriend and now they were close to breaking up?

"Don't get her hopes up too much, they're still together," Zoey said to May.

"But it's just the truth," May claimed. "All they've ever done is arguing. And over petty things."

"How did they even get together?" Dawn wondered.

"That was a bit strange. She just showed up and they were already a couple. They must have agreed to this over phone," Zoey guessed.

"Why do you even care so much?" Then May remembered the way Dawn acted when she met Ash again. "You like him, don't you?"

"I guess there's no denying it." She sighed in defeat. "But how did you notice?"

"Oh come on, no one greets a mere friend like that. It's so obvious," May stated.

"Ha! I knew you had a thing for Ash!" Everybody looked at the door, where Iris was standing now, hands on her hips.

"Please don't tell him," Dawn begged her friends

"Don't worry." Iris spoke for all of them. "But you really should go back now. They're already worrying about you."

When they returned, Ash told her about his journey through Unova. He already had eight gym badges and would compete in the league right after the Wallace Cup. Since she would only be able to stay and watch if she won her fifth ribbon at the Wallace Cup, it motivated her even more to do so. She wanted to give him all the support she could.

Soon Brock and Misty returned. Dawn was happy about seeing Brock again but she wasn't too keen on meeting Misty. Obviously, neither was Misty. They didn't talk a lot during the next hour, not really paying attention to each other. A bit later, when Zoey, May, Iris and Cilan went to the training grounds near the local gym and Brock was dragged away by Croagunk for trying to flirt with nurse Joy, Ash and Misty went up to their room. Dawn, being her curious self, couldn't resist eavesdropping on them. But what she heard was worse than she expected.

"So are you ready for our date this time?" Misty asked in an annoyed tone.

"I told you I have to train. My pokémon are completely out of shape. I won't get far in the league like that!" he replied.

"As usual," she groaned. "Every time it's the same excuse! Why did you even agree to this if you aren't willing to things with me?"

"Well, you could train with me," he suggested. She just slapped her forehead.

"That's not what I mean! I already have to battle all the time at the gym. And now there's only one week left until I have to return." Her voice rose. "I'm talking about going out on dates, having romantic dinners and stuff like that!"

"I don't have time. I have to train!" he repeated.

"Again! Is that all you can say? Why are your pokémon like that? Maybe it's your fault?" she remarked.

"They would be in better shape if you didn't distract me all the time," he retorted, not taking the criticism very well.

"Distract you?" she roared. "I'm just asking for a little attention but you act like I'm not even here!"

"Then why don't you wait until after the league?" he asked.

"This again? I told you, I still have to attend to my duties as a gym leader! I'm here on vacation! I'm here because of you!" She was starting to think that he didn't listen to her at all. "Besides, you don't want to go out with me but you want to watch that contest?"

"So what? I get good ideas while watching the battles. They're inspiring," he explained. "Much more than a date with you could ever be," he mumbled but she heard it and slapped his cheek.

"That's enough! I'll go to the beach! Idiot!" she shouted angrily.

"Fine," he just mumbled, holding his cheek.

Dawn quickly hid when she heard Misty approaching the door. She literally stomped out, slamming the door behind her. Not wanting Ash to find her when getting out, she quickly went the other way, where she ran into Brock, who has already recovered from Croagunk's poison jab.

"Hey, slow down," he told her.

"I'm sorry," she apologized. "I've been lost in thoughts."

"It's okay. What kind of thoughts? About Ash?" he guessed.

"What? How … who told you? Was it Iris? Or May? Or Zoey?" she asked in panic.

"Relax, I traveled with you through Sinnoh. Did you seriously think I wouldn't notice anything?" he stated. "So it is about Ash, isn't it?"

"Oh." She felt a bit guilty about doubting her friends. "Yes, you're right. I like him. I really like him. But he's with Misty now. What do you think I should do?" By doing something about it she meant coping with her feelings. She wasn't one to ruin a relationship just to get the boy as she didn't want to hurt Misty. Dawn was sure that she was a great person and that they could become good friends.

"I bet you could find another boyfriend easily. So why don't you try to date someone else. It will take your mind of him and you might even find someone you like even more," Brock suggested.

"And who might that person be?" she asked, doubting the usefulness of his advice.

"How about Kenny? He likes you." But she shook her head immediately.

"I don't like Kenny that way and I never will. I didn't even know he did, although it would explain his strange behavior." She thought about it for a moment before shaking her head again. "So definitely no."

"Maybe Barry or Conway?" This suggestion wasn't really better.

"No way! I barely even know Barry. And Conway creeps me out," she answered truthfully.

"Paul?" But even Brock knew that this would never work.

"Are you even trying? I wouldn't date him even if he was the last person on earth," she made clear. "And he wouldn't want it either. If we met again, he would be like 'Who the hell are you?'. Geez, forget about it. I'm going to get a hotel room for the next few weeks."

"Hey, I was only trying to help," he defended himself.

"I know, I'm sorry. It's just that I'm a bit stressed because of all that." She sighed. "I need some time alone. Bye."

Dawn wanted to get a room in one the hotels now. Fortunately, it wasn't very expensive as part of the price was paid by the hosts of the Wallace Cup. It was just another way of encouraging coordinators to participate.

Ash was already regretting the things he said to Misty so asked his most trusted partner for advice.

"Pikachu, what do you think I should do?" Over time, he learnt how to understand him pretty well.

"Pikaa!" the pokémon said, sparks coming from his cheeks.

"You want to train? Good idea. That will take my mind off all the troubles," Ash replied.

"Pikachu, pi pika!" Pikachu was really excited now.

"Dawn? You want me to train with her?" His pokémon nodded. "That would be great, let's ask her!"

While he was looking for her, he decided to tell her about his relationship with Misty. It was better she heard about it from him than from anyone else. Who knows, maybe she could give him some advice? He wanted to give it a try. Just when she was about to leave the pokémon center, he spotted her.

"Hey, can I talk to you for a moment?" he asked.

"Yeah sure," Dawn replied.

"You see, Misty and I are kind of together …" he started.

"Really? Why didn't you tell me before?" She pretended to be surprised.

"Well …" He didn't know. "I have no idea. I'm sorry. But there's something I wanted to ask you."

"Go ahead." She didn't really want to talk about but she tried to be the best friend she could, nonetheless.

"As you may know, I'm not really into romance or stuff like that. But when Brock convinced me to do this …" Her eyes widened.

"Wait!" she interrupted him. "Brock convinced you?"

"Yeah, he pretty much begged me. He and Misty's sisters. They probably just wanted to help her," Ash explained.

"Okay, go on." Dawn was wondering, what other surprises could be waiting for her.

"They said that I'm just too dense to realize my feelings for her. They said that I should just try it out. In the end I just got tired of it and agreed. Not my brightest moment. Well, I never expected it to turn out like this. She always wants me to take her out. But I want to train instead. After all, I have a league to prepare for." He sighed. "I thought she was supposed to understand that as a girlfriend. What should I do?"

"I guess that's part of being in a relationship. You have to respect her needs as well. She probably hoped you'd be more … romantic." Dawn wondered how anyone could expect that from a boy like Ash, though.

"But it just causes us to argue all the time and I'm getting sick of it. Even my pokémon have been a bit down lately." Pikachu nodded. "It's always the same. She asks me to do this and that but, of course, it's absolutely not what I want. Then we argue, which usually leads to us saying mean things and she slaps me."

"But you do apologize to each other, do you?" Dawn asked.

"Of course! Always!" He hesitated for a moment. "Well, most times."

"Do you have any common interests? Is there something both of you like to do?" He just shrugged.

"I have no idea. So far, I haven't found anything," he said.

"What are you going to do? It doesn't sound like you're happy at all." She felt really bad for him.

"I don't know. I never should have agreed to this. It only brought me pain. But I'm afraid of breaking up with her. I still want to be friends with her, you know?" Ash told her.

"I see. Maybe I should talk with her?" Dawn suggested without much thinking.

"That might help. But be careful. She can get angry easily," he warned her.

"No need to worry!" But she knew exactly that there was need to worry. She had practically no idea how to talk to Misty. But seeing him put on a smile, even though it was only a weak one, made it all worth it.

"I've missed hearing that. And thank you for listening," he said gratefully.

"No problem. That's what friends are for," she answered with a smile.

"How about we have some training battles? Just like in the old times when we used to do this nearly every day." He was his old self again.

"Yes! Yes! I've missed that so much." She didn't need to be told twice. "That way I can show you a few of my new pokémon. Just give me a few minutes to change them. There are some who need a bit more practice." Fortunately, they were at the pokémon center right now.

"Sure, I'll wait for you." He was also looking forward to this. With Dawn around, he somehow had twice the motivation.

A few minutes later she was ready, but she was carrying something else. It was a chocolate cake.

"I nearly forgot about it. This is for you!" She handed it to Ash, "I made it myself. It's not the best but I hope that you still like it."

"Wow, thank you! You really know what I like, don't you?" She blushed. "That reminds me, I also have something for you. Please wait here."

A bit later he returned with a small music box. The cake was left in his room for later.

"I hope you like it," he said nervously. "The song reminds me of you so I chose it as a gift." He activated it.

"Wow, that's so thoughtful. Thank you so much!" She listened to the song, which she really liked. Ash made a good choice. "I love it! Thanks again, Ash."

"I'm glad you like it. Shall we go training now?" He received an eager nod. "Alright. And when we return, we'll eat the cake. There are some training fields near the gym. Just follow me." He took her hand and dragged her with him. He was obviously even more excited about it than Dawn who was surprised by his enthusiasm but enjoyed having him hold her hand. Maybe May was right. Maybe she had a chance, after all.

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><p><strong>That's pretty much how I imagine a relationship between Ash and Misty. I'm afraid this step was necessary.<br>**

**But to make one thing clear: I won't make Misty or anyone else look worse than they are or even turn them into monsters. While I may not like some pairings, it doesn't mean that the characters are bad. And don't be too hard on Brock. He had a reason. The next chapter will provide more information on this 'deal'.**

**The song of the music box is the melody of a slow instrumental version of Dawn's theme song Kimi no Soba de (which I absolutely don't own).**


	21. Chapter 21

**This chapter didn't turn out the way I wanted as the battles are much, MUCH longer than I expected. Since the anime isn't as far as may story now, I have to decide which pokémon evolved. **

**Disclaimer: I don't own Pokémon or its characters.**

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><p><span>Chapter 21: Battle Time<span>

Ash and Dawn got to the training fields quickly, where numerous other trainers were already battling. She wanted to show him a few of her newest Pokémon: Kabutops, Scizor and Rioulu, who had hatched a week after her arrival in Unova. The other three pokémon were Leafeon, Espeon and, of course, Piplup. Apart from Pikachu, Ash also had Serperior, Pignite, Dewott, Scrafty and Unfezant with him.

One battle caught their attention. A blond boy was battling a coordinator's kingler with his chandelure. It was nearly over as Kingler was already heavy wounded.

"Use shadow ball!" The move hit it straight in the face, knocking it out immediately.

"No! Kingler!" The coordinator rushed to his fainted pokémon. "You did a good job. Have a rest now:"

"Good job? It was a joke, nothing more! As expected from a Kanto coordinator," the blond boy said, contempt clear in his voice.

"Who is that?" Dawn asked.

"That's Trip. I think I told you about him." Dawn nodded. He was one of Ash's strongest rivals. She remembered that Trip didn't like Kanto and even called Ash a hillbilly.

"I'll get you for this later!" the coordinator shouted before storming off.

"Hey Trip, what are you doing here?" Ash asked.

"Oh, it's you. I think that's pretty obvious. I'm battling some of those coordinators to find out whether they're actually worth something in battle." He recalled Chandelure. "But so far I've only met show-offs."

"There are strong ones, I can tell you that." He gave Dawn a quick side glance.

"Really? I don't think so. If they were strong, they would have done gym battles instead of that crap about beauty and elegance." The coordinators around him were getting angry and started to challenge him but he declined every time.

"Hey, take that back!" Ash yelled angrily.

"Or what? Why do you even care? Do you have friends among them?" Trip asked.

"I do and they certainly aren't weak!" Ash turned back to Dawn. "Let's go." But Trip wasn't finished yet. He continued to taunt his rival even as he was walking away.

"If you take yourself as a reference, maybe you're right. It's not difficult to be stronger than a hillbilly such as yourself." Trip shouted after him. "You boonies from Kanto are all the same."

"That's enough!" However, it wasn't Ash who said this. It was Dawn.

"And who are you?" Ash's rival asked her.

"I'm Dawn, a coordinator from Sinnoh and one of Ash's friends. And I won't allow you to insult him any longer." She slowly walked up to him with Ash following.

"So why should I stop?" He obviously wasn't impressed.

"Because he isn't weak. He's strong. Probably stronger than you. An awesome trainer and person. He can bring out the best in every pokémon. I have no doubt that he will win that league! And he has already had more adventures than you probably will have in your entire life. He has seen lots of legendary pokémon, even having defeated some of them. He taught me everything I know about pokémon. So don't you dare insult him!" Ash was looking at her indecriously all the time. She was defending him? And all those things she said. Did she really mean them?

"A big mouth," he said . "But can you back it up?"

"What do you mean?" Her eyes narrowed.

"If he's been such a great teacher to you, prove by battling me. I challenge you." Trip was expecting her to back down but, to his surprise, she accepted.

"Fine! Here and now?" she just replied.

"Sure! A three on three with substitutes. We need someone to judge the battle!" he shouted.

They found someone pretty quickly. It seemed their conversation has drawn quite a lot of attention. Among the spectators were also May, Iris, Zoey, Cilan, Drew and Kenny.

"Are you sure you want to do this?" Ash asked her with a concerned look.

"Absolutely. You shouldn't take that from him either." She was still pretty angry.

"Okay, but there's one thing I would like to know." She looked at him expectantly. "Did you really mean those things you said about me?"

"Of course!" She tried to hide a small blush. "It's just the truth."

"Wow, thank you." He didn't know that she thought that highly of him but it made him happy. "And now show him your strength. I'm sure you can do it!"

"No need to worry!" She said laughing,

"It will be a three on three match. Substitutes are allowed. Battle, begin!" The battle judge announced.

"Conkeldurr, it's your turn!" The massive fighting type roared as it was called out.

"Kabutops, let's show him!" Trip smirked. He had a type advantage at the beginning. "Start with stealth rock!" Dawn commanded. He sent out several pointed rocks, which fell on the ground near his opponent.

"A good start but maybe she should change her pokémon?" Someone next to Ash remarked. It was Drew.

"I'm sure she knows what she's doing," Ash replied.

"Crush it with rock smash!" Conkeldurr ran towards Kabutops, releasing one of its concrete pillars to punch its opponent with its fist.

"Use protect and follow up with rock polish!" Dawn's pokémon received no damage as the attack was blocked by the green aura before he started to glow white, dodging the next punch with increased speed.

"Not too bad. Use rock tomb!" His pokémon put down his other pillar, forming a huge rock in his hands which it threw at Kabutops.

"Counter with brick break!" He cleaved the rock easily. "Waterfall!" Kabutops jumped on a pillar of water which quickly rose from the ground.

"Rock throw!" Once more, Conkeldurr threw rocks at its opponents.

"Use aqua jet with rapid spin!" He encased himself in water while spinning, before launching himself at his opponent with the pillar of water following him. His sickles, which he held I front of him to create a drill, smashed the rocks without effort.

"Use superpower!" With all its might, Conkeldurr blocked the combination attack only to be hit by the water following him. The force of the attacks caused them to separate again, both of them heavily breathing. "Use superpower again!"

"Finish it with slash!" Trip's pokémon missed him due to his great speed and was hit in the belly. It collapsed shortly after, leaving Kabutops the winner.

"Conkeldurr is unable to battle!" the judge shouted.

"What and amazing combination!" May exclaimed.

"Well, I can do better," Drew said with a hair flip.

"In your dreams," she replied. They started a playful argument.

Ash didn't listen. He was proud of Dawn winning this despite a type disadvantage.

"Well done, Dawn . You'll beat him!" he shouted.

"What? It seems I underestimated you. It won't happen again!" Trip recalled his fainted pokémon. "Take a rest now. Serperior, go!" The pointed rocks floated next to him and crushed the grass type before returning to their original position.

"Careful. That's his strongest pokémon!" Ash warned her.

"Kabutops, return! You have done well." Dawn wished she had taken Gengar instead of Leafeon as she would have a great type advantage. But it wasn't the time for regret. "Leafeon, it's your turn!"

"Use leech seed!" Trip ordered. His pokémon shot several seeds at Leafeon.

"Counter with hidden power!" The fire type orbs burnt the seeds before going for Serperior who dodged them easily. However, it gave some time to Leafeon.

"Sunny day!" A glowing orb appeared above the battle field, which activated Leafeon's chlorophyll ability. "Now x-scissor!" Because of the speed boost it was faster than Serperior now, making several hits but the regal pokémon was still fast enough to hit his opponent with cut. Suddenly he got surrounded by a green aura, showing that his overgrowth ability was activated. It wasn't surprising as x-scissor was a super-effective move.

"Gastro acid!" He sprayed a liquid which disabled Leafeon's ability, making it slower again. "Now we have you! Vine whip! Then leaf tornado!" Trip shouted. His pokémon caught Leafeon with vines, holding the opponent in front of him before sending a boosted leaf tornado at him.

"Free yourself with x-scissor!" He cut the vines but not without taking heavy damage from the leaf tornado. "Use it again to attack it!" Dawn knew that with Serperior's speed and power, her pokémon didn't have time to recover with synthesis so she tried to take him down quickly.

"Leaf storm!" The verdant pokémon managed to cut the first leaves but was soon overwhelmed and had to endure the move. "Energy ball!" The green ball finished Leafeon off.

"Leafeon is unable to battle!" the judge announced.

Ash was a bit concerned. It would be really difficult for her now. Although Serperior was heavily damaged and weakened due to his use of leaf storm, it was still a powerful opponent. Maybe she should have used a counter instead of Leafeon. But he was even more surprised by her next choice.

"You did a good job. Thank you," Dawn said as she recalled him. "Kabutops, it's your turn again. Use aqua jet!" The shellfish pokémon quickly flew towards Serperior, encased in water.

"Another leaf storm!" Dawn knew that a direct hit would be the end of Kabutops. But she wanted Trip to send out his last pokémon first so she could use a suitable counter.

"Fly up, directly below the sunny day orb!" Kabtuos did as he was told which resulted in the leaves missing him. As Serperior looked up, the orb was blinding him. "Go for it! Slash!"

"Return!" Trip recalled his pokémon before Kabutops could hit him. "Go, Jellicent!" It was also hit by the rocks that were still on the field.

Dawn quickly checked her pokédex. She had already seen many pokémon in Unova but this one wasn't among them.

"Jellicent, the floating pokémon. They propel themselves by expelling absorbed seawater from their bodies. Their favourite food is life energy."

"A water and ghost type," Dawn mumbled. "Kabutops, great job. Return for now. Go, Scizor!"

"A good choice," Cilan, who was also standing next to Ash with Iris now, remarked. "Jellicent is unlikely to have fire moves."

"You can do it, Dawn!" Ash cheered her on.

_Alright, he's counting on me. This isn't merely about winning a battle. This is about winning a battle for him. So I'll have to do my very best,_ she thought

"Scald!" Trip commanded. Jellicent shot a stream of scalding hot water at Scizor, who dodged it just in time.

"Use bullet punch!" The pincer pokémon hit his opponent but suddenly he was surrounded by a purple aura, deactivating the move.

"That cursed body ability caused you quite some trouble as well, didn't it?" Iris pointed out. "She should have used a pokémon that can fight without direct contact."

"I'm sure she will find a way," Ash answered.

"Agility! Then swords dance!" He dodged another scald with great speed before his pincers glowed white. "Use it again!"

"Use surf!" Scizor just watched as the wave got closer, his pincers glowing brighter than ever. Just when it crashed down on him, Dawn reacted.

"Now! Use night slash!" Her pokémon ignored the damage from the water and just hit Jellicent as hard as he could. Once more, his move was deactivated but his attack did massive damage. Jellicent was smashed into the ground but got up again. Dawn had to admit that it was tough.

"Use recover!" Trip commanded. However, Scizor was already standing in front of his pokémon, ready to finish it.

"Use pursuit!" The dark type move hit before Jellicent could recover, knocking it out.

"Jellicent is unable to battle!" the judge shouted.

"Alright, return. Serperior, finish this!" But as soon as he was called out again, he was crushed by the rocks. As he had already taken major damage he fainted right away.

"Serperior is unable to battle. The victory goes to … the girl." Dawn sighed in relief.

"You've done it!" Ash ran up to her, raising his arm. She understood and gave him a high five. "You've really come a long way."

A flash made them look at Trip who has just taken a picture of her. Without another word he walked off.

"What was that about?" Dawn asked.

"He takes pictures of those who beat him badly so he can remember them or something like that," Ash told her. "He did the same thing after Cilan defeated him."

"I see. I hope he stops insulting you now." But Ash just shook his head.

"I doubt it. But we still have a practice battle to do, don't we?" He wasn't going to let anyone take it away from him.

"Oh, sorry for doing that." Dawn realized what she had done by accepting Trip's challenge. "Now we can only do a three on three and I don't really have much choice about which pokémon to use."

"No problem." He waved it off.

"So shall we start?" she asked.

"Sure. We don't need a judge, right?" Dawn nodded.

"It's only a practice battle." They both enlarged one of their pokéballs.

"Scrafty, I choose you!" Ash exclaimed.

"Espeon! It's your turn! A dark type? Use reflect!" A protective shield surrounded her before becoming invisible.

"Use faint attack!" Scrafty rushed up to Espeon but jumped up as she braced herself, hitting her from above instead.

"Use zap cannon!" Scrafty dodged it and prepared another attack but Espeon used psychic to control it, sending it right back at the hoodlum pokémon, hitting it in the back. As a result, he got paralyzed.

"Not bad. Use scary face!" Espeon briefly lost her self-confidence when she saw the horrible grimace Scrafty made. Her ability reflected it back at Scrafty who wasn't affected by it as much, though. "Now focus punch!" The scary face gave him enough time to complete the attack without being disrupted, which sent Espeon flying. "High jump kick!" Ash didn't want to let her recover.

"Dodge it and use grass knot!" She rolled to the side just in time, using grass knot just as Scrafty landed, entangling his foot, which caused him to fall on his face. "Now use signal beam!" She shot a rainbow coloured beam at Scrafty who had to take it as he was still on the ground.

"Use dig!" Ash's pokémon dug a hole and jumped in. "Faint attack!" The ground in front of Espeon crumbled but no pokémon came out. Instead, Scrafty appeared behind her, hitting her hard. She wasn't finished, though, as the reflect move reduced the damage considerably.

"Use iron tail and let it fall with grass knot!" The attack caused recoil, which Espeon used to topple him with another grass knot. "Now hidden power!" Multiple orbs hit the helpless Scrafty as he struggled to get up again.

"Get up and use payback!" It took him a while but in the end, he succeeded, knocking out Espeon with a powerful punch.

"Espeon!" Dawn cried. "You've done well. Take a nice, long rest now." She turned to Ash. "As strong as ever, huh? But I won't make it easy for you! Go, Piplup!" Her partner stepped into the battle field. "Use bubble beam!"

"Use dig!" Once more, Scrafty jumped into a hole to evade the attack.

"Use whirlpool and jump on it!" A moment later, Piplup was already riding his own whirlpool. When Scrafty resurfaced, he had to stop, lest he would have been caught in the maelstrom. "Release it!" The whirlpool collapsed, causing the water to flood the battle field, catching Ash's pokémon in the process. "Bubble beam again!" This time, it hit Scrafty, who was dragged away by the water, causing him to faint.

"No! Scrafty! I have to remember that way to counter dig attacks," Ash mumbled. "Well done, Scrafty. Have a god rest. "Pignite, I choose you!"

"A fire type?" Dawn was a bit surprised.

"Well, it's only a practice battle and my pokémon have to learn how to deal with type disadvantages," he explained. "Besides, you used Espeon against a dark type."

"That's true," she agreed. "You can have the first move."

"Start with sunny day!" A glowing orb was floating above the battle field again.

"Alright. Let me show you my second present for you. I've had a bit of trouble with weather effects like that when I arrived in Unova so I made something to counter it. Piplup, do it!" Piplup made a move similar to rain dance but it was much shorter. A cloud appeared above the field, canceling the sunny day before disappearing as fast as it came. "I made this for you just like the spin move. I hope you can put it to good use."

_She made this for me?_ he thought. _A move that can cancel out any weather effect within not even a second? The spin move was already awesome. It saved me more than once. And it was the basis of many other moves like the counter shield._

"Wow, I don't know what to say. I'm really impressed. Such a creativity in one mind," he complimented her.

"Stop it already. I may have invented the spin move but you mastered it. You pushed it to levels I would have never imagined," she countered.

"Would you please stop complimenting each other like little kids and continue with the battle? It's getting boring," Iris complained.

"Oh, sorry. Shall we?" Dawn asked.

"Sure! Pignite, use flame charge." He charged at Piplup, his body surrounded by flames.

"Use bubble beam!" Ash's pokémon, however, was faster than she anticipated. He dodged the move and hit Piplup in return.

"It's really fast. Piplup, let's show them one of our best combinations! Drill peck!" The penguin pokémon started to spin like a drill, launching himself at Pignite.

"Wait for him! Then grab him and use arm thrust!" The impact was a bit stronger than expected but he quickly recovered, attempting to get a hold of Piplup.

"Now use hydro pump!" Before Pignite could do anything, Piplup released a massive stream of water right at his face while getting pushed back by the force of the move and therefore out of reach. Having just been hit by two super effective and powerful attacks at point-blank range consecutively, Ash's pokémon was nearly done for.

"Well, I certainly didn't expect that. You could call that a hydro missile," Ash suggested. "But enough of this. Use flame charge again!" This time, Dawn knew what to expect. She waited for him to get closer.

"Use whirlpool as a shield!" Piplup created a medium sized whirlpool, which he held in front of him. Although Pignite managed to slow just in time so that he wouldn't run into it but he couldn't dodge when Piplup threw it at him, trapping him inside.

"Get out of there and use flamethrower!" Ash shouted. It was too late though. Pignite has already fainted. "Good job! Have a rest." He recalled his pokémon and turned to Pikachu. "It's you turn, buddy!" Pikachu was more than happy about battling again. He hasn't seen Ash that enthusiastic for a while now. "Start with thunderbolt!"

"Dodge it!" Piplup evaded the attack with some graceful, dance-like moves. Ash looked at the pokémon in disbelief. "What? We worked very hard on those moves," Dawn told him.

"It's still pretty impressive. Use electo ball!" Pikachu formed a ball of electricity at the tip of his tail, shooting it at Piplup by using iron tail. Piplup was so surprised by the speed that he had no chance of dodging and got shocked. "Now volt tackle!"

"Use scald!" As Pikachu charged towards his opponent, Piplup shot a stream of hot water at him, which Pikachu dodged before smashing into Dawn's pokémon, knocking him out.

"Piplup! No!" She recalled him. "You were awesome. Riolu, it's up to you!"

"You have a riolu?" Ash asked.

"Yes, I got him as an egg from Maylene. He hatched about a week after my arrival in Unova so he's still very young. That doesn't mean that he'll be easy to defeat, though," she warned him.

"I wouldn't dream of it. Let's start! Use volt tackle!" Pikachu charged at his opponent.

"Vacuum wave!" Riolu shot several horizontal tornados from his fists at him, which Pikachu dodged easily. As soon as he was close enough, Dawn reacted. "Detect!" With one quick movement, Riolu evaded it, following up with another vacuum wave, which hit Pikachu in the back.

"Use electro ball!" Just like in his fight against Piplup, he shot the ball at his opponent with his tail. Dawn's pokémon was hurt badly but it was far from over. "Try volt tackle again."

"Detect! Then brick break!" Similar to the first time, Riolu dodged the attack but this time he hit Pikachu on the head. However, he was paralyzed when he did that. "Oh no, static."

"Why are you doing this?" Ash has just noticed that Dawn seemed to mimic Riolu's movements although she wasn't too good at it. Actually, it looked rather funny so he had to keep himself from laughing.

"I was told that it could help me get in sync with Riolu and strengthen his powers. As you can see, I can't keep up with his speed and dexterity yet," she explained. "But I hope to get better in time."

"Well, let's continue the battle. Another electro ball!" Since Riolu was slower now, the move did even more damage. To Ash's surprise, Riolu could still continue. "Finish it with volt tackle!"

"Block it with force palm!" Dawn's pokémon held both his hands in front of him, creating a force field, which slowed down Pikachu as he got closer. He came to halt directly in front of Riolu. "Release it!" The force of the attack threw Ash's pokémon far away. He got up again.

"Pikachu, get up and use thunderbolt!" Riolu tried to dodge it, but the paralysis stopped him, which resulted in him getting knocked out.

"No! I'm so sorry, Riolu. I shouldn't have let it come that far," Dawn apologized as she recalled him.

"It's also a bit my fault. I got a bit carried away," Ash said, scratching the back of his head.

"No, it's my responsibility as his trainer. He's still so young. But I can't change it now." She sighed. "Anyway, it was a good battle."

Their friends and the other spectators returned to their own battles.

"He's already really strong. And so are Piplup and Espeon," Ash remarked.

"They're lousy!" They turned to the source of the voice. It turned out to be Ursula who has watched the whole battle. "So how many ribbons do you have?"

"My pokémon aren't lousy!" Dawn yelled. "And I have four ribbons right now."

"So do I. Sometimes I wonder how a weak coordinator like you could get so many of them," her rival said. Now it was Ash's turn to defend his friend.

"Dawn isn't weak!" Ash shouted. "She got to the final at her first grand festival! And she got only stronger since then. She created some of the most awesome combinations I've ever seen. So why should she her not get so many ribbons?"

"Are you serious?" Ursula and Dawn asked at the same time.

"Of course! You're so amazing and talented. You will get your fifth ribbon without problems!" he said to Dawn, who blushed and turned away. "There's no way you will fail to get to the grand festival." He turned back to Ursula. "And nobody talks about one of my friends like that! How about we have a battle? Then you can prove how strong you really are."

"You're just saying that because you're her friend," Ursula remarked. "And because you have no idea what contests are about. Otherwise you wouldn't speak that highly of her. She only wins because of luck. I'm not interested in your kind of battles. Why don't you enter the Wallace Cup instead to show me that you are not completely clueless?"

"He already entered the last Wallace Cup and made it to the battle round. Unlike you." This comment made Ursula pretty angry.

"I was weak back then," she admitted. "And making it to the battle round once doesn't mean that you're an expert. Do it if you have the guts. Anyway, I'll see you later."

"Yes, I'll enter it! And then I'll knock you out of it!" he shouted after her.

"Do you really want to do that?" Dawn asked. "You still have to prepare for the league. But I guess Wallace would be happy to see you compete again."

"It will also help me prepare for the league. So it'll be no problem. That is, if you help me a bit?" Dawn laughed.

"How could you ever doubt that? Of course I'll help you!" she reassured him. "By the way, you didn't have to defend me. Did you really, really mean those things you said?"

"Sure," he answered, a bit embarrassed. "You shouldn't have to take that from her."

"You know, that's exactly what I said about you and Trip," Dawn pointed out with a grin. "But thank you. It was very sweet of you. You don't need to enter the Wallace Cup. I know you can be awesome in contests as well!"

"There's nothing that can stop me now! Someone needs to teach her a lesson," Ash told her.

"And I can't be that someone?" she asked, pretending to be hurt by his comment.

"Hey, I didn't say that!" he defended himself. "I just wish she would have accepted my challenge instead of taking the easy way out."

They chatted a bit more as they watched a few more battles. Before they knew it, it was already dark so they all went back to the pokémon center. Although Dawn had seen Kenny among the others, he wasn't with them when they returned. It didn't matter to her as she had Ash now. Misty also has returned in the meantime. Ash wanted to tell her to meet Dawn in his room now. Then it would be up to her.

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><p><strong>I wanted to do more but it's already longer than the other chapters so I'll save the rest of the reunion for later. There will also be things like information on Team Plasma's fate and a tag battle. <strong>


	22. Chapter 22

**The Ice Aqua Jet is a perfect example for a move made by them together (she thought it up and he made it actually work). So it just has to appear somewhere. There will be other combinations but I can't tell anything specific yet.**

**Disclaimer: I don't own Pokémon or its characters.**

* * *

><p><span>Chapter 22: Just Friends<span>

Ash carefully approached Misty, fearing that she might still be mad at him for the things he did and said. But she didn't look angry. She just looked tired.

"Misty, could you go to my room? Dawn would like to talk to you," he told her.

"I can already guess what this is about. I'll go right away." It was up to Dawn now.

"I hope she knows what she's doing," he mumbled.

But the truth was, she had absolutely no idea so she was very nervous as she sat on a chair, waiting for the girl to appear. Still, she was determined to help them as much as she could. Ash shared this room with Iris and Cilan. It made her think a bit that he and his girlfriend didn't even share a room. Then Misty entered. Without a word, she sat down next to Dawn.

"So tell me. Why did you want to talk to me?" she finally broke the silence.

"It's about Ash. He's very frustrated about the situation. He has to prepare for the league but he also doesn't want to hurt you," Dawn told her. "It's just that he doesn't know what to do anymore."

"Let me tell the story from my point of view. And please don't interrupt me until I'm done." Dawn nodded in agreement. "I actually never asked Ash to be my boyfriend. It wasn't even my idea. It started when my sisters returned from their travels to stay at the gym for a few weeks. I … have been all alone at the gym for weeks and additionally I was pretty lovesick at that time so I annoyed them a lot. I mean, I was really bitchy about that. All the time I got on their nerves because I had nobody else to talk to. Because of that, they got the idea of bringing me and Ash together. Since Brock traveled with him for a long time, he was their first target. They didn't have a lot of trouble convincing him of their idea as they're attractive and you know Brock's weakness." Misty shook her head. "He convinced Ash to try a relationship. Only after he agreed did Brock tell me about it. I was shocked at first but it also made me happy because I still had a crush on him and would have never had the courage to ask him myself. So I played along. I don't know why my sisters did it. Maybe they really tried to help me. Or maybe they were just sick of me bothering them with my feelings. Maybe it was even some kind of revenge. I don't care right now. The important part is: It didn't work. No matter how much I tried, his dreams of becoming a pokémon master were more important to him. And with my duties as a gym leader keeping me busy, I can't really help him with that."

Dawn couldn't help but feel bad for Misty.

"We've argued so much, you wouldn't believe it. And it's also affecting his pokémon, I realized that when I saw you two battling. Yes, I saw it all. His pokémon were so much different. So much more energetic. Just like their trainer. You know, he likes you a lot. He's told me so much. At first, I was afraid that he could leave me for you. Now I can see why he likes you." Dawn blushed at the compliment. "Thank you for listening to my story."

"It was so sad. But what do you want to do now?" she asked.

"I won't lie. I'm close to breaking up. That way, I can at least enjoy the last week of my stay in Unova," Misty told her with a sigh.

"Really? Is there nothing I could do?" Misty got an idea. Her sad look was replaced by a mischievous one but Dawn didn't notice since she turned the other way.

_I think I'll check whether the things he said about her are true_, she thought.

"Maybe there is something. Tell Ash that I'm willing to give him one last chance. Tell him to meet me at the entrance of the pokémon center at 5 pm tomorrow. And the most important thing: Tell him it's over if he doesn't come." She stood up to leave his room.

"You're serious, aren't you?" Dawn wasn't sure what Ash would do.

"Absolutely. Go tell him now." Misty commanded.

"Alright. See you later." The coordinator also left the room to return to Ash.

"Yes, see you later," Misty mumbled, grinning.

Unbeknownst to Dawn, she followed her when she went to the entrance hall, where Ash would wait for the results.

"Ash! There is something I have to tell you. Shall we go to your room?" As this information was a bit personal, she didn't want the others to hear it.

"Okay," he simply replied, following her.

They went back to his room, closing the door behind them. Misty rushed there to listen to Ash's reaction.

"Well, I can tell you that she is just as frustrated as you are. But she's willing to give you one last chance." Misty pressed her ear against the door so that she wouldn't miss a word. "She wants you to be at the entrance of the pokémon center at 5 pm tomorrow. And if you don't come, she'll break up with you. I don't really know what she has planned …" She stopped when Misty opened the door, entering the room.

"It's enough. You passed the test," she said.

"Huh, what test?" Dawn had no idea what she was talking about.

"Yes, what test? And what was this about a last chance?" Ash was just as confused as Dawn.

"Ash, I'm sorry." Misty put her hands on his shoulders. "We gave it a try but it didn't work. It's best for both of us if we break up right now. No need to keep something alive that is doomed to die anyway. But I hope we can still be friends like in old times."

"Do you really mean it? It may not have been the best relationship but it still hurts," he said truthfully.

"It wasn't exactly a relationship but yes, I'm sure," she replied.

"So we are still friends?" he asked a bit unsure.

"Yes." She gave him a quick hug, which he returned. Unlike the ones before, this one didn't feel weird as it was unforced. A simple, friendly hug.

"I'm happy that you aren't mad at each other. But I'm confused. What was that about a test?" Dawn guessed that Misty hasn't been entirely honest with her.

"I'll explain that tomorrow. I'm going to sleep now. It's been a long day," she answered. "Bye, guys!"

"Bye, Misty," both of them replied. Suddenly Dawn remembered something.

"Oh no, I forgot to get a room," she exclaimed.

"No problem, you can sleep in my bed, I'll just sleep on the floor," Ash suggested.

"Are you sure? I don't want to bother you." He just shook his head.

"You don't. I'm happy to help," he told her with a smile.

"Thank you, Ash. I appreciate it." She was tired and certainly not in the mood to get a new room.

They spent the rest of the evening chatting about various things, including the weather effect canceling move. They agreed to work on it the next day. When Iris and Cilan got there to go to sleep, they joined them. However, they couldn't fall asleep yet. Too much has happened. Too much on their minds.

"Ash?" Dawn whispered. She didn't want to wake him in case he was already asleep. Plus she didn't want to disturb their friends' and pokémon's sleep.

"Yes?" he whispered back.

"So you can't sleep either, huh?" She got up in the bed. "There's something I wanted to ask you. Did you really, really mean those things you said about me?"

"I already told you that I meant them." He was glad that she couldn't see his red face in the darkness.

"So you think I'm amazing and talented?" she asked.

"I do. Why do you keep asking?" He wondered why she brought it up again.

"It's just … traveling without you has been hard. And I haven't achieved anything great so far. Sometimes it feels like you just say those kinds of things to make me feel better," she whispered. "To be honest, I've been a bit depressed before I started my Hoenn journey. I wasn't sure whether I could do as well as in Sinnoh. My pokémon and the prospect of seeing you again kept me going and I'm here now but I don't know whether that's enough. At moments like that I feel weak."

"Are you kidding?" He got a bit louder than he intended and continued a bit more quietly. "You got the second place in your first grand festival. Not even May can claim the same. And she's an awesome coordinator."

"That may be true but her mother isn't a top-coordinator. Whatever I do, it doesn't seem enough," she said sadly. "It's not easy living in the shadow of a brilliant mother with people expecting me to be the same or even surpass her."

"Don't bother yourself with such thoughts. Do you think she achieved what she did in one year? She had the same problems as you." Actually he didn't know about that. He just assumed it. "So no need to worry, right? You're stronger than you think and everything will work out."

"Thank you, Ash. You're absolutely right." She smiled when he said her catchphrase. "Even if I don't win this time, I'm still at the beginning of my career."

"See? If anyone here should feel like that it's me. I've already visited so many regions without winning a major league." Now that surprised Dawn.

"But you won't give up! I'll make sure," she reassured him.

"There have been some tough moments." He thought about the time after his big loss against Paul. "But there's no way I would do that. I would never disappoint my pokémon like that."

_And neither would I disappoint you_, he thought. _After all, you made that show just to cheer me up again._

"That's what I like about you. Your determination is inspiring," she told him with a dreamy look.

"It's really enough now." Ash was a bit embarrassed. "We have to get some sleep or we'll be dead tired tomorrow. And there is so much I want to do."

"You're right. Good night," she said, lying down again.

"Good night." He did the same.

After that good talk, it didn't take long to fall asleep.

When Dawn woke up in the morning, Ash was already gone.

"Well, that's weird. He was always the one getting up late," she mumbled, still a bit sleepy.

She quickly prepared herself for the day. At least it was relatively quickly as doing her hair still took a lot of time. When she was ready, she went to have breakfast.

Ash was currently eating breakfast with Iris and Cilan. While the boys were having pancakes with Ash having considerably more, Iris was just eating an apple.

"So what are you going to do today?" she asked him.

"Dawn wanted to show me that move she created sometime. I'll ask her if we can do that after breakfast. And after that we'll probably train normally," he answered. "Or is there something else you wish to do?"

"Misty asked us to go shopping with her today. May and I already agreed. We hope Dawn will join us as well," she told him.

"Oh, I see." Ash was a bit disappointed. "If she wants to go, I won't stop her. I can wait a bit longer. But I didn't know you like that sort of stuff."

"It depends on the company. And even I need a few things sometimes. By the way, do you know what happened to Misty? She seemed to be much more relaxed than usual," Iris stated.

"Oh that." So she hasn't told them yet. "We broke up yesterday."

"What? Are you serious?" Cilan asked incredulously.

"Yes, she said that it was over and that's it. It's probably better that way." Iris nodded in agreement.

"I think it was about time," she said. "You two never really got along."

"That's true," Ash agreed. "Maybe now I'll be free of distractions and can finally prepare for the league properly."

"What about Dawn? Will you … ouch!" Iris winced in pain when Cilan stepped on her foot. He gave her a look as if he was trying to tell her to stop.

"What about Dawn?" Ash didn't notice Cilan's strange behavior. "What did you want to say?"

"Uhm, nothing." Iris decided to deal with Cilan later. "Hey, there she is."

She went to their table with a few pancakes. They greeted each other before Iris told her about Misty's plans.

"So would you like to come along?" Iris asked.

"Sure. It sounds like fun." Dawn didn't know about Ash's plans. "What about Zoey? Did you ask her?"

"Yeah, but she declined. She said that doesn't really like things like that." Then Dawn noticed that Ash seemed a bit down.

"What's wrong, Ash?" she asked, a bit concerned.

"He hoped that you could teach him that move of yours today," Cilan answered for Ash.

"Oh, I'm so sorry. If you wish I can stay with you," she suggested but he shook his head.

"No, it's fine. Go and have fun. I can wait one more day. We have a lot of other things to train, after all," he told her.

"Wait, I have an idea. I can leave Leafeon with you. He was one of my first pokémon to learn it and can help you a lot. I'm just sorry that I can't do it myself," she apologized.

"Don't worry. It's already helping a lot. Just make sure you have fun in the city." That brought back memories. "It was quite a pain when Misty dragged me there. Come to think of it, it was one of the few things we did together."

"It's over Ash. Don't live in the past," Iris said, shaking her head. "Such a kid."

"Do you always call him that?" Dawn asked with a frown. "I don't think he deserves it."

"Don't mind her," Cilan told her.

"Yeah, it's ok," Ash agreed.

"I don't think so. Ash is a lot more experienced than you. You should apologize to him," she said with a serious look.

"Oh, you want to fight about it?" Iris held up one of her pokéballs but when she saw Cilan and Ash shaking their heads and remembered about their activity that day, she lowered it again. Since they were about to go on a shopping tour, she didn't have time for a battle right now. "Alright, I'm sorry." It wouldn't stop her from calling him a kid again later, though.

"Hey, guys!" Everyone turned around to see Misty approaching their table.

"Good morning," they replied.

"Dawn, did they tell you about my plans? Did you agree?" She received a nod. "Awesome! I'm sorry that I have to take her from you, Ash."

"No, it's alright." He waved it off. "Go ahead."

"Thank you." She turned to Dawn again. "I'd like to have a word with you."

"Okay." She stood up and followed her,

They went to Misty's room where nobody would disturb them.

"I have some explaining to do, don't I?" Misty said.

"Oh yes, you said something about a test?" Dawn recalled their last conversation.

"First things first. You like Ash, don't you?" She was already used to that sort of question.

"Well, as nearly everyone seems to know now, there's no denying it," she replied.

"And as I told you, he likes you, although he might not have realized it yet. That's probably one of the reasons why it didn't work between us. Anyway, he told me a lot about you and when it became clear that we should break up, I wanted to make sure that you are not a backstabbing bitch," Misty said bluntly.

"What?" Dawn had no idea what it had to do with a test.

"You could have told him nothing. Or a different place or time. But you told him the truth and gave me chance even though I was keeping you from being with him," the redhead explained.

"Wow, you're quite mischievous, aren't you?" the bluenette said with a grin.

"Sometimes. It was kind of spontaneous. It was also the reason why I decided to end it so quickly. I know you can make him happy. He's still my friend, after all. And if he does something stupid, you can visit me and I'll give you a mallet to teach him a lesson," Misty shouted, clenching her fist.

"I don't think that will be necessary," Dawn replied, waving her hands in front of her. "And what are you going to do now?"

"I'll enjoy the rest of my vacation. Now that it's out of the way, I can look for someone else," she told her. "And now let's go!"

They went to the entrance of the pokémon center where Iris, May, Cilan, Tracey and Ash were already waiting.

"Huh, what are the boys doing here?" Dawn asked.

"We need someone to carry our stuff. Tracey and Cilan volunteered." Iris told her with a smirk.

"What?" Cilan looked at her in shock. "I never did something like that! I'm just here …"

"Nope, you're coming with us. That's what you get for not siding with me and stepping on my foot." She grabbed his arm. "You can't escape."

"Leafeon, come on out," Dawn exclaimed. "Please go with Ash and help him with our weather move. I'm afraid, I can't be with you. So please just do your best." Leafeon looked at him and nodded.

"And make sure he doesn't do anything stupid," May added.

"Oh come on, I'm sure he'll be fine." Dawn shook her head. "Return for now." She handed the pokéball to Ash. "Take good care of him."

"Don't worry. You know you can count on me," he reassured her.

Then they went in their respective directions. With Leafeon's help, Ash's pignite learned it pretty quickly. The other pokémon had a bit more trouble as they had to learn a weather move first so it went a bit slower than expected. However, he managed to create a variation of the move, which would probably be very useful in the future. He also had a practice battle with Drew. They have become quite good friends and he was the only one who did regular battles with Ash. After this one they had a little conversation.

"You're much better than two days ago," Drew remarked. "What happened? A break up can't do all that."

"I have no idea," Ash replied. "I just know that battling is a lot more fun now."

"Does the arrival of Dawn have anything to do with it?" he asked with a smirk.

"Well, we had a good training battle yesterday but that's pretty much it." The coordinator just rolled his eyes.

"That's not what I meant," he shouted. "Does her mere presence motivate you?"

"I guess you could say that. Why do you ask?" Ash was still clueless.

"I think you like her," Drew simply stated, hoping that Ash would finally get it.

"Of course I do. She's a good friend," he replied.

"How can anyone be so dense?" Ash looked at him, confused. "I mean that you like her more than as a friend!"

"What? You mean … no! We are just friends. She doesn't like me like that. And I'm not sure I want to have a girlfriend anytime soon," he added. "It would just distract me from my training."

"Are you sure? After all, getting a girl like her isn't easy. Unless you have my looks, of course," Drew said, doing a hair flip.

"I'm absolutely sure," he answered. "I can't afford something like that with the league starting soon."

"Then why do you want to enter the Wallace Cup?" he inquired. "That'll distract you just as much. And I hope you are aware of the fact that your chances of winning are pretty much non-existent. You may be able to beat mediocre coordinators but there's no way you'll win against me, May, Dawn, Zoey or even that Kenny guy in a real contest battle."

"It will be good practice. And last time I made it the quarter finals," he defended himself.

"With a pokémon trained by Dawn." Drew rolled his eyes. "You have to make an appeal. And even during the battles your strength alone won't help you against an experienced coordinator."

"Dawn believes in me, so I'll make it." But he knew that there was one thing Drew was right with.

_I could gain much more by simply training during that time, _he thought_. I haven't registered yet. So why do I still want to? Is she more than a friend to me? She's certainly different from my other friends, supporting me with all her heart, so much more than anyone else. Maybe that's what Drew meant. But I can't let things like that distract me now. I have a league to prepare for. A league I have to win. Everyone saw what happened when Misty became my girlfriend. Alright, Dawn has to wait. If she really is my friend, she will understand. But what if she asks me? How should I react? _

"Hello? You still there?" a voice interrupted his thoughts.

"What? Oh, yes. I was just thinking," Ash explained.

"You so are into her. You should ask her out," Drew said.

"Stop it! I'm not asking anyone out right now. Why is everyone interested in my relationships all of sudden?" Ash asked.

"Because of the whole Misty deal," the coordinator explained. "They want the best for you."

"Well, maybe they should stop it. Brock also wanted the best for me but it only brought pain," he complained. Drew decided to just let him think a bit more. So they sat in silence before returning to their training. Unbeknownst to them, Kenny has been listening the whole time.

_Damn it! I have to do something quickly, _he thought_. Should I challenge him to a battle for her? No, that plan already failed work in Sinnoh. I have to make a move on her myself soon. If he did it before me, I might lose her forever. And I'll get Drew for that 'not even that Kenny guy'._

He sighed. The situation got a lot worse for him now.

Dawn, on the other hand, had a lot of fun. Castelia City was a great place to go shopping. Although Misty had quite a temper, they quickly became friends. Iris urged her to make a move on Ash but Cilan warned her about it. He said that she should wait until after the league as he has just broken up because he couldn't prepare properly with a girlfriend. Dawn had to agree with Cilan on this. She also finally got to know Tracey better. It seems he wasn't happy about Ash's relationship with Misty either as he seemed to like Misty quite a lot. However, she didn't seem too keen on starting a new relationship at the moment. Still, his chances have improved quite a lot.

Time went by quickly. When they met Ash at the pokémon center again, Dawn promised that they would train together the next day. He seemed a bit disappointed upon hearing that she got a room in a nearby hotel and wouldn't stay in his room this night. Anyway, he was already looking forward to training with her again. She even promised to show him her newest pokémon. Not even her other friends have seen it yet.

* * *

><p>The inspector was doing some paperwork in the local police station in Castelia City when he got a call from one of his subordinates.<p>

"Yes?" he asked, a bit annoyed at the interruption.

"Sir, we have found the last two of the seven sages." Now that got his attention.

"Really? Where? What is the situation?" he asked immediately.

"They're dead. We found their corpses hanging from a tree with dead grunts lying around. Team Rocket made an example on them." The inspector sighed.

"Damn it, they're always one step ahead of us. Well, at least Team Plasma is finally finished now. With their leadership dead or arrested and their hideouts destroyed they won't pose a threat anymore," he said. "So do you also have news about Team Rocket?"

"Yes, sir. It seems they are withdrawing from Unova and returning to Kanto to battle another organization called Galactic Hunters. Their headquarters have been wrecked recently so they need everyone they can get there," the policeman told him.

"Very good. It's their problem now. Collect all the evidence you can find. I want a full report lying on my desk by tomorrow," the inspector ordered.

"Yes, sir!" He hung up.

"Finally that's over. We should tell the kids about this," he mumbled.

* * *

><p><strong>Maybe Misty was a bit too nice in this chapter but she has also matured a bit. More training in the next chapter and other, smaller things.<strong>


	23. Chapter 23

**I won't write every training battle in detail or some chapters might become too long. I will, however, do that for every contest or league battle Ash or Dawn are involved in. **

**Disclaimer: I don't own Pokémon or its characters.**

* * *

><p><span>Chapter 23: A Day at the Beach<span>

"Gengar, it's time to finish it!" Dawn exclaimed, calling out her last pokémon.

It was one of their usual training battles. Ash was already using his last pokémon. Dawn's pachirisu defeated his dewott due to the type advantage in the first battle. He called out Leavanny, who beat Pachirisu but, in turn, was easily defeated by Typhlosion. His final pokémon was Boldore, who, after a hard fight, managed to defeat her pokémon and even evolved in the process. Not it was Gigalith against Gengar.

"Use rock blast!" Ash commanded. Gigalith shot several big rocks at the ghost type but she was too fast for him to hit her.

"Shadow ball!" Gengar managed to hit him several times and although the rock type was really slow he was also really tough.

"Stone edge in all directions!" Dawn knew that it would be hard to dodge that.

"Hide in the shadows!" Gengar seemingly disappeared in the ground but was exactly what Ash wanted.

"Now earthquake!" But he didn't expect her next move.

"Telekinesis!" The upper half of Gengar's head emerged from the ground, her eyes glowing green. Gigalith was surrounded by a green aura when Gengar made him float just above the ground, making it impossible to use earthquake. "Now focus blast!"

"Protect!" But Dawn's pokémon just turned him around using telekinesis so that the shield faced the wrong direction, resulting the light blue orb hitting him critically. This time, the rock type didn't stand up again.

"Good job. Thank you, Gigaltih." Ash recalled his pokémon.

"That was awesome, Gengat. Take a good rest now." It was the first training match she has won.

"Well done," he congratulated her. "You're also getting better."

"I mostly won due to type advantages." She just waved it off.

They argued a bit longer about it before Dawn gave in, returning to their usual activities.

This day, there was nothing else to do but train. Ash proudly presented a variation of her move, which allowed him to control the duration of weather moves. He showed it by commanding Pignite to use it to quickly power up just one fire move. It took a bit longer than her canceling move but it was still a lot faster and more flexible than the usual sunny day. So she helped the rest of his pokémon with learning the canceling move while he taught hers his variation.

They continued like that for rest of the day, until it was dark. Then Dawn remembered her promise, inviting him to her hotel room.

A bit later, they were standing in front of the entrance to her room. Piplup and Pikachu were already sleeping in their arms, exhausted from the intense training.

"Can you tell me now why you don't want to show it to me anywhere else?" he asked.

"As I said, I don't want the others to see it," she said, opening the door. "He's supposed to be a big surprise for them. At the grand festival he'll get his first real contest battle." They both entered the room.

"You want to use a pokémon that has nearly no real battle experience at such an important occasion?" He was a bit concerned.

"It's fine. He's already really strong. I even think he's close to evolving," she told him before going into the bathroom.

"Well, I still don't know what pokémon it is. Can you show me now?" Ash couldn't wait to see it.

"Just a moment. Let me just wash my hands and face," he heard her voice from the bathroom. They were a bit dirty as she fell to the ground during the training once when one of her pokémon tackled her to the ground in an attempt to hug her. "Alright, come on out. No! Don't do that again!"

Ash saw her leaving the bathroom but she was walking a bit strangely.

"Is something wrong?" he asked with a worried look.

"He did it again! I hate it when he does that!" Dawn shouted from inside the bathroom.

"Wait," Ash said, completely confused. Now another Dawn was standing at the door, hands on her hips. "What's going on here?"

"Well, I have to admit, it is kind of funny," the second Dawn said, barely containing a laugh. The first one snickered before turning into a zorua. "There you have your explanation."

"Wow, you have a zorua. So that's what you mean by surprising your rivals," he said, admiring the dark type.

"I've wanted one ever since our little adventure with Zorua and Zoroark." She patted her pokémon on the head. "Even though he's just as mischievous, he's a great pokémon and a strong battler. It was quite a challenge to catch him."

"That's great." Zorua created an illusion of Ash. "He looks just like me. He doesn't even have that tail."

"Yes, he's already very experienced with his illusions," she told him. "So what are you going to do tomorrow?"

"I haven't planned anything special," he admitted. "Just training as usual. I hope you'll join me again."

"Sure! But don't you think you should take a break soon?" she asked. "Your pokémon have worked really hard so they deserve some rest."

"I guess you're right. Just look how tired Pikachu is." He pointed at the sleeping pokémon in his arms. "I think we'll have a day off after tomorrow."

"That's great! I know a place where we can relax," she told him immediately. "Do you know Undella Town?"

"No, what about it?" he asked.

"It's a summer retreat with a wonderful beach." She got a dreamy look when she thought about it. "Espeon can get us there and back in an instant."

"Sounds good. How about we invite the others, too?" he suggested

"Sure, why not?" She had hoped to be alone with him, though.

"Great. I'll tell them about it." He hesitated a bit. "Is there anything else you want to talk about?"

"No, it's alright. You're probably tired and want to return to the pokémon center." Of course she wished to be with him a little longer. However, she was sure that he wanted have some rest. "Come to think of it, I also need some rest."

"Then I guess I'll see you tomorrow." Although he would have liked to stay longer, he knew that she needed some sleep.

"Count on it," Dawn said to him. "Bye, Ash."

"Bye, Dawn." She closed the door behind him.

He grinned, thinking about her plan.

_It's so kind of her to worry about me like that. It sounded like she has planned it all along. I think I'll enjoy this. But she must be thinking I'm selfish as I haven't done a lot for her lately. Yet she doesn't hesitate to help me even more. I should thank her properly. But how? Wait, even now she's distracting me. This is frustrating. No, it's not her fault. She's just trying to help me. I wish the league was already over. Okay, no more of that. I have to think a bit more about my pokémon's performances today. _

When he arrived at the pokémon center, he saw everyone again. Everyone except Gary. He has been acting strange lately, often being away all of sudden. But he didn't have time to think about it as Iris was already asking way too many questions about what he did with Dawn at her hotel until Cilan stopped her, which he was thankful for. He proceeded to tell them about Dawn's plan. Iris was especially thrilled as she already knew Undella Town. With a little persuading everyone agreed to come along before they went to sleep.

The next day, the registration for the Wallace Cup started. So the first thing Ash, Dawn, Zoey, May, Drew and Kenny did was to do exactly that. Unfortunately every single coordinator did the same thing so they had to wait a bit. In three days the number of participants along with the time schedule would be published.

Then it was time for more training. Their pokémon perfected their respective moves so they moved on. It was time to create an appeal. While Dawn has already done that long ago, he had some trouble with it. Since there were two large pools on the stage, water types were recommended so he chose Dewott. But the real question was: What kind of appeal could he do? They discussed a few ideas but just couldn't come to an agreement. So they just continued to train normally for the rest of the day. Since they would have the next day off, they decided to give it all they've got, training till it was already really late. He escorted her to the hotel despite her telling him that he didn't need to do it before returning to the pokémon center.

After a good night's rest everyone except Gary, who was nowhere to be found again, gathered in front of Dawn's hotel, waiting for her to appear. Most of them didn't have a lot of things with them, only Kenny had a surfboard.

"Good morning," she exclaimed cheerily when she left her hotel. "Is everyone ready?"

"Sure," they replied at the same time.

"Okay, get in a line and Espeon will bring you there one after another." She called out the psychic type. "Teleport them to Undella Town, one at a time."

Everyone did as they were told. It took some time but in the end they were there.

"Thank you, Espeon. Take a nice sunbath now, I know you like that." Espeon nodded, doing exactly that.

It was clear that Dawn didn't exaggerate when she told them about this place. It was simply a beautiful beach. No wonder rich people had mansions around here. In addition to that, it was a beautiful day so nothing stopped them from relaxing the whole day. They quickly found some changing booths. The boys were wearing trunks of different colours with Ash's, Kenny's and Tracey's being blue with Kenny's having white flames on them. Brock and Cilan had black trunks and Drew green ones. The girls took some time but the boys thought it was worth the wait.

May was wearing a lovely red two piece swimsuit, held together by red strings, which definitely caught Drew's attention, although he tried to hide it. Of course, she noticed it and started a conversation by making a remark about his boring, green trunks. After a brief argument he shut her up by giving her a rose. Iris' green one piece swimsuit was a bit different. It had green strings falling down the waist, making it look like a grass skirt. Zoey was wearing a blue two piece swimsuit, which had a few vertical white stripes at the sides. Misty's swimsuit was similar to Zoey's but without the stripes and a little bit skimpier, although still far from being indecent. But Ash wasn't paying attention to them. He was looking at Dawn wearing a simple, blue two piece swimsuit.

He was a bit surprised at how much she has grown and how attractive she actually was. She, on the other hand, admired his tan and chest. He certainly didn't look shabby to her. When their gazes met, they turned around with red faces. May knew those looks.

_Maybe puberty is finally kicking in_, she thought.

"Want to … want to go swimming?" she asked, hoping that he didn't catch her staring. It was a truly awkward situation for both of them.

"Uhm, sure," he replied, thinking the same thing.

"Great!" She dragged him to the water where she called out Gyarados and Milotic, who didn't get to swim in open water a lot lately and Buneary who was overjoyed to have a day off with Pikachu. And Misty

"Geez, such kids. They should just confess and get it over with," Iris complained.

"Remember, Ash might not be ready for another relationship yet," Cilan warned her. "We should just give them some time and everything will work out. I mean they're already acting like a couple so it's only a matter of time."

"You're so boring. I say we bring them together," she demanded. "Maybe she'll help him maturing a bit."

"Please don't. There's no way to tell how he will react." He was quite alarmed now.

"You worry too much. But fine, I won't bother him," she said. "At least today," she added when he was out of reach. "Now they really are playing like kids."

Ash and Dawn were having a little water battle with their pokémon watching them amusedly. May, Drew, Brock and Tracey were just having a sunbath while Iris swam out a bit further with Cilan following her so that she wouldn't go too far. Zoey played with some of her pokémon in the water all the time and Misty was swimming with Milotic, Gyarados and Zoey's lumineon, admiring the water types.

Soon Ash was already hungry and went off to get some snacks. Kenny suddenly appeared right next to Dawn.

"Having fun, Deedee?" She gave him a bored look. "Alright, I know it's getting boring. You can't blame me for trying, do you?"

"I think I can. What do you want?" she asked.

"I just want to ask something. Do you want to go out with me?" He got straight to the point.

"Sorry, Kenny. I don't like you like that. You're just a friend to me," she answered truthfully but he didn't accept it.

"I knew it. It's because of Ash, isn't it?" he blurted out. Now there was no going back.

"What does he have to do with it?" she asked incredulously. "He's also just a friend."

"Suuure." Kenny didn't believe a word of it. "That explains the look you gave him when you saw him before. Don't act like I'm stupid."

"So what? He doesn't have anything to do with our friendship," she stated.

"I think he does. He is the reason why you don't even give me a chance. But I'll show you that he isn't the right one for you." Dawn was getting more and more annoyed by him. So much for a relaxing day. Pikachu and Piplup noticed that and ran off with a plan.

"I'm not giving you a chance because I don't have any feelings for you. That's all. And I decide who's the right one for me!" She hoped that he would finally understand.

"You should be with a worthy coordinator, not a trainer like him. You should be with me," he claimed.

"So what are you going to do?" She remembered his behavior back in Sinnoh. "Challenge him to a battle? That already didn't work in Sinnoh." At that moment, Piplup and Pikachu ran by, carrying Kenny's surfboard together. Fortunately, Kenny was too focused on the conversation with Dawn.

"Please, you have to realize that he'll just play with you like he played with Misty. You're no more than a toy to him!" Kenny was becoming more desperate.

"He's not that type of guy!" she replied angrily. "And I've had enough of your accusations. Please go now before I'm getting angry."

"I only want the best for you. But fine, I'll go now." That was mostly because Ash was about to return.

When he did, he handed her something to eat.

"What did Kenny want?" he asked.

"Oh, it's nothing. No need to worry." She waved it off but, of course, he didn't believe her.

"You know exactly that doesn't work," he replied, snickering before becoming serious again. "Did he say something that made you uncomfortable?"

"Well, he asked me out," she answered after a moment of hesitation.

"What? And what did you say?" Somehow he couldn't stand the thought of her being together with Kenny.

"I told him that he's just a friend to me. But I don't think he'll give up so soon," she added sadly.

"But there's something more, isn't it? You can … hey, what's that?" He pointed at something really strange.

She turned around and let out a laugh. Pikachu and Piplup were on the surfboard, riding on Piplup's own surf attack. And they seemed to have a lot of fun.

"Where did they get the surfboard?" he asked but the answer came straight away.

"Give it back right now!" Kenny yelled at them. They complied, but not the way he wanted. The wave came straight at him and the pokémon jumped off just before it washed over him. The problem was that the wave was really big so it also hit Ash and Dawn, who hid behind his back for protection. In the end she couldn't help but laugh, though, especially when Piplup stuck out his tongue at Kenny. Buneary rushed to Pikachu immediately, worried about his well-being.

"Well, that was the craziest thing I've seen for weeks," Ash said, having already forgotten was he was about to ask Dawn.

Even though it was pure luck, she was thankful for the distraction. Otherwise she would have had to either lie to him or confess. And she knew exactly that she wasn't ready yet.

Their pokémon wanted more attention so they started to play. Espeon told Dawn telepathically that Piplup did this for her to cheer her up when he heard the things Kenny said to her. It definitely made her happy that her pokémon would do this for her and even in such a creative way.

She also got to know Tracey a bit better. As it turned out, he was a great artist and he showed her many different pictures of pokémon he made.

"Feeling jealous?" Kenny, who was suddenly standing next to Ash, asked.

"No. Why should I?" he just replied. "She's just admiring his art. He's a great artist so naturally she wants to see his pictures. Besides I trust my friends."

"So you admit that you like her?" the coordinator asked angrily.

"What? I never said that. Besides, I don't want another girlfriend right now." But Kenny didn't believe him.

"Don't think I'm that stupid. I know you want her. And I will do everything I can to stop you. Stay away from her!" Then he just walked off.

"This is getting more and more annoying," Ash exclaimed with a sigh.

"What did Kenny want from you?" Dawn asked, having just returned.

"He wanted me to stay away from you," he answered truthfully. "But don't worry. I promise you, I'll always be there for you." He had no idea how much she appreciated what he just promised.

"Thank you, Ash. And he said that? There's definitely something wrong with him. I'll have another talk with him soon. And hopefully, he'll stop after that." However, even she didn't really believe it.

"I just hope you're right," Ash said.

Dawn also spent some time with the other girls who told her some rather funny stories. One of them was about Iris remarking that May's table manners were not so much different from her munchlax's. Naturally, she wasn't too happy about that comment but the real trouble started when Iris took some of her food, just to see what happens. It resulted in a battle between them, in which Iris was pretty much helpless against a furious May. In the end she claimed that it was worth it since she got a chance to see May's dragonite in action. On the other hand, she wasn't happy to see her snover as the ice type defeated Axew easily.

Ash was teased by Drew the whole time as his friend often caught him staring at Dawn. Although May claimed that he was even worse he didn't stop, which frustrated Ash quite a bit.

Meanwhile Kenny was pondering on what he should do. Actually, he was completely out of ideas. Challenging Ash didn't work. Impressing Dawn didn't work. Confessing didn't work. Ash was the problem. But how could he get rid of him without Dawn getting mad?

As it was a very warm day, they stayed at the beach until it was getting dark. Espeon brought them back to Castelia City, where they went their separate ways. On the way to her hotel, Dawn saw Gary hurrying to the pokémon center.

"Hey, Gary! What are you doing here?" she shouted.

"Dawn? Ehm, I was just having a talk with the professors," he replied quickly.

"And why didn't you do that at the pokémon center? Besides, you're supposed to be on vacation," she said, folding her arms.

"Well, it was kind of personal," he replied but she didn't buy it. She knew of his research that also involved protecting pokémon from organizations like Team Galactic and he also helped fighting against Hunter J.

"I think you're hiding something. Does it have to do something with a new criminal organization in Sinnoh?" she asked, thinking that he might know something about them.

"What? Why would you think such a thing?" He was surprised to say the least.

"Let's see: Your work in Sinnoh. You already helped against Hunter J and Team Galactic. So they sound like another target. You have been missing a lot lately. You talked to the professors, who are probably also involved in this." She listed all the reasons she could think of.

"You're surprisingly sharp. I didn't expect that from you." He continued before she could reply. "You know about them?" He gave up denying now.

"Looker told me a few things. And I got in their way a few times along with Zoey." Memories of the battle against Hawk returned.

"Really? What exactly do you mean?" he asked curiously. He could already guess what she meant.

"Well, we beat a guy called Hawk near one of their bases at Meteor Falls," she told him.

"Okay, you convinced me." Dawn was surprised about how quickly he gave in. "The public doesn't know about those bases or their commanders. Let's go to my room and I can tell you more."

She followed him to his room at the pokémon center where he proceeded to give her information on their mutual enemy.

"Maybe you already know that they call themselves Galactic Hunter. Things have changed during the last weeks. We somehow got information on the locations of their bases. Of course, the police immediately raided them. They secured a lot of their equipment but they found mostly blown up bases after raiding the first ones. It seems Team Rocket also got that information and attacked a few of them themselves," he told her.

"Well, that sounds like good news." But Gary shook his head.

"Yes, at first it crippled their activities. Now it seems that we acted a bit too fast. Ever since those events, they have gotten more aggressive, slowly replacing the hired poachers by their own grunts. And those grunts have all the devices Hunter J also had like the cannon that can turn people and pokémon to stone." Dawn remembered that scary thing. "And they don't hesitate to use it on civilians."

"That's horrible!" she exclaimed.

"It is," he agreed. "Fortunately, we can turn them back with hidden power. Still, they are a big problem. They even managed to annihilate Team Rockets headquarters recently. Now the fights between them are more brutal than ever. As you may know, they use special devices to control enemy pokémon. We've even seen a darkrai fighting for them. Those things have gotten more resistant with time. One of our major successes in the past was the discovery of a list with moves that can damage the devices even when they're inside the pokémon's bodies. They put the moves into three different categories: D0 for moves that can't damage them, D1 for those who damage them and D2 for those who destroy them instantly."

"Wow, can you show me that list?" Knowing moves that can destroy those devices would certainly help if she ever met some of those guys again.

"I'll give you a copy. It's better if you know how to defend yourself," he said exactly what she was thinking. "You can even show it to the others and tell them what I told you except for the parts about their bases and the attacks on them."

"Don't worry. I can keep secrets," she reassured him.

"Good. I'm telling you this because Hawk, the commander you and Zoey apparently defeated, has taken … quite a bit of punishment." The tone in his voice told her that she probably didn't want to see the results. "And he isn't one to forget about those who caused him trouble. So be careful"

"Well, we still have some devices Looker gave us to detect them." She took hers out of her bag.

"I'm afraid that flaw has been fixed a long time ago. You can throw them away, they're useless now," he told her.

"I see." She put it back in her bag. "Is there anything else I should watch out for?"

"No, I think that's it. As long as you're in Unova, you should be safe. I'll go back to Sinnoh in two days," Gary informed her.

"It's a shame. That wasn't much of a vacation, was it?" she said with a sad smile.

"Don't worry, I'm used to it. You should go now as I've still a lot of work to do," he pointed at his laptop and a bunch of papers lying around.

"Okay, bye and good luck with your research." She waved him goodbye. "Take care."

"You too. Good luck in your contests. Bye." He closed the door. Maybe Dawn should have asked whether he had some poems of his grandfather with him. She didn't want to disturb him again, though.

So she returned to her hotel quickly and went to bed. As she couldn't fall asleep for a while, she activated the music box Ash gave her when she arrived in Castelia City. It somehow calmed her down so she liked to listen to it before going to sleep. With the melody in the background, she quickly drifted off.

Ash was reflecting on the events at the beach, when Iris disturbed his thoughts.

"Hey, Ash. There's a call from the police station. They have something to tell about the remains of Team Plasma," she told him.

So they went to the video phone where Cilan was already talking to the inspector.

"There you are." The inspector seemed very happy about something. "We've recently found the last two of the Seven Sages. It seems Team Rocket killed them. So basically, Team Plasma is finished. Team Rocket has left Unova to reinforce their position in Kanto, Johto and Hoenn. You don't have to fear acts of revenge anymore."

"Okay, thank you for telling us," they replied.

"Good. Have a nice evening." He already hung up.

"I wonder why they still continued fighting, though," Cilan mumbled.

"Yeah, with their leader arrested, their hideouts destroyed and most of their companions arrested or dead, you might think they would just give up," Iris said sadly. "Instead they continue fighting and just end up getting killed themselves."

"The saddest part is that they were deceived all the time," Ash added. "All their fighting was for nothing."

"We can't change it now so let's try not to think about it. You still have a league to prepare for!" Iris exclaimed.

"You're right," he agreed. "And the first step is a good night's sleep."

On their way back Iris got an idea.

"Ash, how about we have a tag battle tomorrow. You and Dawn against me and Cilan," she suggested. "What do you think?"

"Sure, why not?" He would certainly like to battle with her as his partner again. "Although we have to ask her first. But I'm sure she'll agree."

"Very good. Then you can show us how good your teamwork really is," she said.

"No need to ask me, right?" Cilan asked. "It's alright. I'm already looking forward to it."

Then it was time to sleep. Their beds were already waiting for them.

* * *

><p><strong>Poor Gary never gets rest nowadays.<strong>** The tag battle will be described in full detail and there will be the time schedule for the Wallace Cup.  
><strong>


	24. Chapter 24

**The last chapter before the start of the Wallace Cup. I'm afraid I'll have much less time from now on so the rest will take longer.**

**Disclaimer: I don't own Pokémon or its characters.**

* * *

><p><span>Chapter 24: Tag Battle and Appeal<span>

"You ready?" Iris asked once more.

"Ready!" Ash and Dawn answered at the same time.

"Alright! Emogla, go!" she shouted.

"Stunfisk, it's battling time!" Cilan and Iris agreed on starting with full electric power.

"Dewott, I choose you!" He needed a bit more experience for the Wallace Cup.

"Froslass, it's your turn!" The look on Iris' face was priceless when she saw Dawn's first pokémon.

"Nooo, an ice type right from the beginning. Use discharge!" The attack covered the whole battle field.

"Protect Froslass!" Ash commanded. His pokémon jumped in front of her, using protect to shield her and himself from harm.

"Froslass, use spikes!" She spun, releasing dozens of metallic spikes, which sank into the ground, becoming nearly invisible for the moment.

"Let's get them! Emolga, aerial ace!" With enormous speed she flew towards her opponents.

"Support her with scald!" Stunfisk shot a stream of hot water at Froslass.

"Use Emolga as a shield with telekinesis. Ash, you know what to do." Emolga stopped in midair, surrounded by a green aura and was moved so that she got caught by her ally's move.

"Hydro pump!" Dewott jumped up so that his attack was in line with the scald attack. Now the electric type was hit from two directions.

"Stop it!" Cilan shouted. When one of the streams subsided, the force of the hydro pump threw her at Stunfisk, hurting him as well.

"Ice shard!" Froslass hit them as they were about to recover but they weren't finished yet.

"They're good. But we won't give up! Emolga, use double team!" Iris' pokémon created a lot of copies and started to run towards her opponents.

"Dewott, use water gun!" It destroyed several copies but she just kept creating them.

"Help him with ice shard!" However, she still kept going. Suddenly, a big wave of muddy water moved towards them.

"Freeze it with blizzard," Dawn immediately commanded, but that was exactly what Cilan wanted. Rocks from Stunfisk's stone edge emerged from the water, flew right through the blizzard and hurt the ice type badly. The disturbance caused the wave to not become entirely frozen so the rest washed over Froslass and Dewott.

"Use discharge!" Iris and Cilan ordered simultaneously. As water was everywhere Dewott and Froslass took heavy damage.

"No! Don't think you have already won! Use ice shard on Emolga!" The sky squirrel pokémon proved to be too fast, though, as she dodged every single one. Instead of hitting her, the ice shards smashed the ice behind her.

"Dewott, let's try something! Use razor shells and hold your scalchops in front of you." Dewott didn't know what Ash was planning but obeyed nonetheless. "Now use aqua jet while spinning to create a drill!" It worked better than he expected. The glowing scalchops left behind a helix-shaped trail in the air. Emogla, who was pretty surprised, dodged just in time so Dewott would fly into the icy remains of the muddy water. He went through the ice as if it was water, smashing it into small pieces.

Dawn immediately saw the potential in the move. It could even be used as an appeal at the Wallace Cup. She would have to talk to him later.

"Another stone edge!" Cilan ordered.

"Now psychic!" Froslass deflected the rock, causing them to hit the frozen water, creating even more small ice shards than there were already due to the earlier attacks. Suddenly they rose, surrounding Emolga, who was still distracted by Dewott's special aqua jet.

"Watch out!" Iris tried to warn her but it was too late. The ice encased her completely.

"Free her with stone edge!" Cilan commanded.

"Use hydro pump!" Ash didn't want to allow her to recover.

"Shadow ball!" The rocks freed Iris' pokémon only for her to be hit by two powerful attacks directly after. It was too much for her and she fainted.

"No! Poor Emolga. You did a good job. Return for now." She recalled her and readied another pokéball. "Axew, go! Start with dragon rage!" After taking some damage from the spikes, he shot a large, blue fireball at Froslass.

"Froslass, return!" Dawn thought that Froslass took a bit too much damage for her to continue. "Go, Riolu!"

"Riolu?" Ash was a bit surprised.

"Yes, I realized that he has to fight much more in order to become stronger. He isn't a baby anymore and I trust him completely. Use nasty plot!" Riolu glowed white, powering up his next attacks.

"Stunfisk, use dig! Then discharge!" Cilan ordered.

"You too, Axew! Combine it with outrage!" Both pokémon dug a hole and jumped inside. The holes were too far away for the other pokémon to do anything quickly.

"Detect!" Stunfisk got out just next to Riolu, who dodged it with one quick movement. However, he used discharge, which hit both Riolu and Dewott shortly before Axew jumped out next to Ash's pokémon with red eyes, hitting him critically. "Focus blast!" The light blue orb hit Stunfisk in the back, sending him flying at Axew, disrupting his attack. However, it was too late as Dewott was already finished. But so was Stunfisk.

"Well done, Stunfisk. Crustle, it's your turn!" The stone home pokémon also received damage from the spikes.

"You were also great, Dewott." It was time to send out one of his strongest pokémon. "Serperior, I choose you! Use leaf tornado! Then vine whip on Axew!"

"Rock tomb!" Dawn commanded. Riolu threw big rocks at Crustle, which surrounded the slow pokémon so he couldn't escape the tornado, which just stayed there, hurting him a lot.

"Free yourself with rock wrecker!" He destroyed the prison and the tornado with his own, massive rock, shooting it at Serperior, who got ready for it. However, Axew attacked her with outrage before she could protect herself. Fortunately, Riolu was already there, cleaving the rock with brick break before attacking Axew with force palm.

"Axew, snap out of it and use dragon rage!" Due to his use of outrage, Axew was confused now and shot the fireball at the ground in front of him.

"I've got an idea! Grab Riolu with your vines and throw him at Crustle!" Dawn quickly understood what he was trying to do as Serperior threw him as if she was a catapult.

"Jump kick!" Riolu got in the right position but Cilan was ready for this.

"Protect! Then rock blast!" A green aura surrounded his pokémon.

"Feint! Then brick break!" He broke the aura, hurting Crustle in the process and followed up with a powerful punch but was pushed back by a rock blast. Serperior has used leaf storm in the meantime, hurting Crustle even more. He was really tough as he could still stand after those powerful attacks. Axew was back to normal now, hitting Serperior from behind with dragon rage. Cilan saw his chance.

"Shelll smash and rock wrecker!" His pokémon left his shell, now being surrounded by white glowing particles. When he created a large rock, they merged with it, increasing the power of the attack before he shot it at Riolu. Since Dawn's pokémon was distracted by Axew's attacks on Serperior, he couldn't dodge in time. Although it was a powerful hit that pushed him back quite a bit, he could still continue.

"Use focus blast!" The light blue orb sent Crustle flying far away. He was nearly finished now. In fact, Ash, Dawn and Iris thought that he was but Cilan saw that he could still move a bit. Slowly he walked back to his shell while Riolu and Serperior were attacking Axew with energy ball and focus blast. Just as they were about to finish him, Cilan's pokémon reached his shell again. Iris noticed that Crustle was still there.

"Shall we do this?" Cilan asked both Iris and Crustle. She looked at the battle field briefly. Their pokémon were nearly done for so there was no better opportunity. She and Crustle nodded in agreement. "Alright! Use explosion!"

Ash and Dawn were shocked to hear this command. The explosion shook the battle field, causing heavy damage to anything on it. When the smoke cleared, all the pokémon except Serperior were unconscious.

"I'm sorry, it's my fault," Dawn said, recalling Riolu. "I should have paid more attention to Crustle. Have a good rest now. Buneary, it's up to you now!"

"Don't worry, I should have done the same. Serperior, return! You did a good job. It's your turn, buddy," he said to Pikachu who ran on the battle field.

"Thank you, Crustle. You've done great. Pansage, it's battling time!" It was time for his premium brand pokémon. Both his and iris' pokémon took a bit of damage from the spikes.

"You're getting better and better, Axew. Take a rest now. Excadrill, go!" She saved her strongest pokémon for the end. "Start with sandstorm!"

"Cancel it and use quick attack!" Ash commanded.

"Work up, bounce and then jump kick!" Buneary glowed red and jumped up high, preparing a powerful kick. When Excadrill finished the sandstorm, Pikachu quickly canceled it with his new variation of rain dance and charged at his opponent.

"Grass knot!" Cilan ordered, but Pikachu was too quick for Pansage to make him trip.

"Drill run!" Excadrill formed his body into a drill and launched himself at Pikachu, who used his tail to jump up before his opponent could hit him. At the same time, Buneary was on her way down so Pikachu gave her a push with iron tail, increasing her speed and power even more. She hit Iris' pokémon with incredible force but was pushed off his head by Pansage's solar beam before she could do anything else.

"Pansage, get on Excadrill's head and protect him from there!" This made attacking with jump kick again pretty much impossible.

"Use earthquake!" Iris' pokémon sent out a shockwave at the two pokémon who jumped up, only to be hit by bullet seed. "Repeat until they're done!"

"Use fire punch to counter the bullet seed attack!" Buneary burned the seeds this time and gave Pikachu time to attack.

"Thunderbolt on Pansage!" But Excadrill simply raised his arm in front of his ally, taking the attack himself. They repeated this a few times but soon Buneary and Pikachu got tired. Ash saw some cracks on the ground below Excadrill. "Dawn, let Buneary use the jump attack again!"

"You heard him. Bounce and jump kick!" She jumped up high once more but this time, Pansage prepared a seed bomb and waited for her to come closer.

"Pikachu, use iron tail on the ground in front of them!" He smashed the ground, which was already weakened by lots of earthquakes. Excadrill staggered, which caused Pansage to lose his balance, falling off. Buneary smashed into Iris' pokémon right after, dealing critical damage. "Iron tail on Pansage!" Before he could fall to the ground, Pansage was sent right back with Iron tail, where Buneary welcomed him with a fire punch. Excadrill has recovered a bit in the meantime and hit Pikachu with metal claw. Buneary, angry about this, proceeded to punch Excadrill mercilessly on the head until he fainted.

"Excadrill, no! You did your best. So have a good rest now." She turned to Cilan with disappointment clear in her voice. "It's up to you now."

"Don't worry. Pansage is strong." But he knew that he couldn't possibly stand against two pokémon. He waited for them to do the next move as an open attack would mean defeat.

"Pikachu, use electro ball!" A yellow orb appeared at the tip of his tail, ready to strike the opponent.

"Buneary, focus punch!" Dawn's pokémon hit the ball with all the strength she had left, sending it flying at Pansage with incredible speed. Before he could even understand what just happened, he was already knocked out.

"Wow, that was fast," Cilan admitted, stunned by the speed of that electro ball. "You did a great job. Take a rest."

"We've won!" Both Ash and Dawn exclaimed, giving each other a high five. Buneary mimicked their action, giving Pikachu one but due to her recent use of fire punch, Pikachu's paw got burned a bit. Piplup immediately rushed to him, cooling it down with a small stream of water. The rabbit pokémon was really sorry and grabbed the paw with her ears, licking it to soothe the pain. Needless to say, Pikachu was pretty embarrassed about that, blushing heavily.

"Aw, how sweet," Dawn cooed, while Ash just grinned at his partner.

"A wonderful battle. I must say, you two are very compatible. And I don't mean the pokémon this time," Cilan added.

"Then what do you mean?" Ash asked a bit confused, which caused Iris to slap her forehead.

"Such a kid!" she mumbled. Usually, Dawn would have scolded her for that but she didn't really listen as she watched Buneary taking care of Pikachu and even if she did, she would have to agree this time.

"We should leave them alone now," Cilan said to Iris. "I'm sure they have a lot to talk about."

"Okay, if you say so," she replied with a sigh. "By the way, we have to work on our teamwork. I don't want to lose like that ever again!"

They walked away, leaving Ash, Dawn and their pokémon by themselves.

"Well, Ash, there's something I wanted to talk about," she told him. "Your appeal."

"Do you have any good ideas?" he asked curiously.

"Well, I should be asking you," she replied with an amused grin. "Do you remember Dewott's aqua jet in this battle?"

"Oh that." He scratched the back of his head embarrassedly. "I hope you don't mind that I borrowed that move. I remembered your kabutops using it against Trip's pokémon so I decided to try it out. Maybe I should have …"

"Ash, stop!" she interrupted. "You know you can use my moves anytime you want. I'm trying to tell you that it would be great in an appeal."

"You think so?" he asked.

"I'm sure of it. With a bit of training Dewott could learn how to draw patterns in the air. Razor shell is a pretty rare move, right? So it's also quite unique," she explained.

"I think you're right. Let's try it out again!" he held up Dewott's pokéball but then it struck him. Dawn giggled. "Oh, I forgot he was knocked out. Let's go to the pokémon center first."

"Good idea," she answered.

They not only had their pokémon healed there but Ash also invited her to a nearby restaurant. He claimed that it was for her help with the appeal but Iris and May called it their first date. Anyway, the food was delicious so it was definitely worth it.

After that, they went to a rather remote training field as they didn't want to get disturbed. With Kabutops' help, Dewott mastered the improvised move pretty quickly so they tried to think of how to improve the appearance even more. There were quite a few ideas but in the end they made only minor improvements. Nevertheless, they were content. After all, they made a promising appeal for him. Actually, Ash was worried, that she might neglect her own appeal but she quickly convinced him otherwise with a short presentation, using Kabutops.

They proceeded with the usual training.

During a break, Dawn decided to watch a few other battles while Ash was getting something to eat. One of them was Kenny against Drew, in which Kenny's alakazam was about to lose to Drew's absol. She watched it until the psychic type was finished by Absol's night slash.

"You did your best. Rest now," Kenny said to his pokémon before turning to Drew. "Alright, you've won."

"Good job, Absol. And that's what happens when you challenge me," he replied and walked off.

"Tell me, Kenny, has your feebas evolved yet?" She started a conversation.

"Uhm, to be honest, no, she hasn't," he replied with a sigh.

"You should use her in some contests. That really helps." His face brightened up a bit. She was giving him advice? Maybe the situation wasn't as bad as he thought. But the smile quickly faded. "There is something I have to make clear about us. As I've already said, I regard you just as friend. Nothing more. And you would be better off if you just accepted it."

"How about we make a deal?" He wanted to give it one last try. "Will you give me a chance if I manage to beat Ash in the Wallace Cup?"

"How do you even know you'll get him as one of your opponents? Sorry, Kenny, but I won't do that," she told him.

"Then at least tell me what Ash has but I don't," he asked desperately.

"I told you, this isn't about him. I just don't have any feelings for you," she replied a bit angrily.

"Yeah, but why do you have feelings for him? What makes him better than the others?" Dawn thought about it for a moment.

"That's not difficult. He's always there when I need him. He always knows when I'm feeling sad and tries to comfort me. He always goes the extra mile to help me out or just make me happy. He watched all of my contests to give me his support and even though he knew that my contests were holding him back, he didn't mention it even once." She listed all the reasons she could think of right now. "But the most important thing is that I feel a special bond between us. One I have never felt before. I feel his joy and pain. And there's nothing I wouldn't do for him. Do you understand now why I know he's the right one for me?"

"So I have absolutely no chance?" he asked one last time.

"Exactly. Giving up right now would save you some pain. I'm sure there is someone out there who can make you truly happy," she reassured him.

Kenny didn't know what to do. She made it quite clear that she didn't like him the way he wanted. On the other hand, he didn't really want to give up like that.

"Give me some time to think about this," he finally said.

"Alright. I just hope you'll make the right decision for both of us." He slowly walked away, leaving Dawn behind. Just as she was about to go back, Ash rushed at her, relieved that he has found her.

"I'm so glad to have found you. I have been worried. Never walk off like that all of sudden again"" he said, his hands on her shoulders.

"I'm really sorry. I just wanted to watch a few battles and met Kenny along the way. So I decided to have this talk I told you about. Well, it took longer than I expected," she replied sheepishly.

"It's okay now. Just tell me next time." He handed her some snacks. "I brought you something as well."

They had dinner right there. For the rest of the day, they trained normally, which, to their surprise, resulted in Pignite evolving into Emboar. Dawn's work with Riolu also led to first results. She was much more in sync with him now, even so much that she started to sense his emotions more clearly. Ash wasn't surprised by this. After all, he claimed, she was chosen by Mesprit.

_Another thing on the list: He makes me feel special,_ she thought at that moment.

The next day, the results of the registration were published on list. As all the other coordinators were already looking at it, they had to wait a bit.

"Come on, now's our chance!" May shouted after a group of coordinators left.

They quickly went there, having a look at the list. It was quite a surprise.

"126 participants!" Zoey exclaimed. "It seems all the advertising really paid off. This will be fun."

"How do they even plan to let all of them do their appeal in one day?" Dawn asked.

"Not one day but two days," Drew remarked, pointing at the schedule and the text below it. "It says, behind every name is a number, which determines the order and time of your appeal. If it is below 64, you will do your appeal tomorrow. The rest will do theirs the day after. My number is 25."

"Mine is thirteen. I'll be one of the first," Kenny said.

"62," Dawn mumbled. "It seems mine will be one of the last tomorrow."

"I'll have to wait quite a bit until it it's my turn. 109." Ash would have preferred to get it over with quickly.

"You're not the only one. My number is 104," Zoey added.

"You're lucky. I would prefer to watch a few other appeals before it's my turn," May told them. "My number is two!"

"Hey, look at that! Nando is also competing!" Dawn exclaimed excitedly. "His number is 88."

"Who's Nando?" Drew asked curiously.

"A trainer and coordinator we met on our journey through Sinnoh," Zoey explained. "It'll be nice to see him again."

"Yeah, I wonder where he's been all the time." Ash couldn't help but worry a bit. There was much more competition than he thought, making getting through the appeal round a very difficult task.

It appeared that Dawn was thinking the same thing so they intensified the training. They worked hard the whole day but in the end, they were content with the results. The Wallace Cup could finally start.

* * *

><p>Bones entered the dark room, where Rose was working right now. His expression was beyond angry.<p>

"WHAT IS THE MEANING OF THIS!" he yelled at her.

"Calm down!" she answered, frightened by his fury. "And then tell me what you mean."

"You know exactly what I mean!" he retorted. "Why were all the captains executed?"

"I can tell you that I'm just as upset as you. But it was necessary." He couldn't believe what she just said.

"You call the murder of nearly fifty men and women necessary?" he roared. "I thought you were better than this."

"We had a traitor in our midst. Whoever it was, he knew the location of most of our bases and the names of our agents among Team Rocket and the police. And since it wasn't one of us commanders, it must have been a captain," she explained.

"So instead of looking for the traitor, we just killed them all? It's just horrible," he complained.

"You know exactly, it would have taken too much time to look for him. We're so close to creating the first prototypes." She got more excited. "Just imagine: Normal pokémon that can beat legendaries! Pokémon without weaknesses! Pokémon that feel neither pain nor exhaustion! Pokémon without fear! And all of them under our control! We can't let anyone disturb us now!"

"Sometimes I wonder whether you're too much into this project," Bones said a bit more calmly. She just sighed.

"Look, you know better than anyone else how much this means to me." Memories of her past returned. "They laughed at me for my ideas. I have to show them."

"And you're willing to use those things on Roserade?" he asked.

"Why not? I develop them myself so they'll work," she answered.

"But what about your original goal? What about your promise to her?" he inquired. "Have you already forgotten about it?"

"Of course not! I'm still working on it. It's just that the boss wants me to finish the enhancing devices first," she explained. "As soon as they are ready I will be able to concentrate on it completely."

"The boss isn't interested in our pokémon's needs at all. When I joined, I expected him to be a bit more idealistic. You know, with him being a former member of Team Galactic." He shook his head. "But he's totally different."

"He joined them because they supported his research. He's only interested in money," she told him. "But what about you? You don't sound too happy. You don't want to leave, do you?"

"Are you crazy? I've already gone too far to stop now. So don't worry about that. I'll stay with you," he reassured her.

"Thank you. You know I need your support. It was already a real shock when you joined Team Rocket. I don't want to lose you again," she whispered.

"Wow, it's rare for you to get that emotional. Don't worry about it," he told her. For her, he would go through hell itself.


	25. Chapter 25

**The first day of the Wallace Cup. And a scene with the last of the Galactic Hunters commanders.**

**Disclaimer: I don't own Pokémon or its characters.**

* * *

><p><span>Chapter 25: First Appeals<span>

The Wallace Cup started in the morning. Marian from Sinnoh was the MC today. As the event was completely sold out, the hall was full.

"Ladies and Gentlemen. Welcome to the first Wallace Cup in Unova, which is also the very first official contest ever held here! We are proud to present you many of the best coordinators from every region. But in the end, only one will be able to win the prestigious Aqua Ribbon, which counts towards the all the grand festivals. But before I start explaining the rules, Wallace, Hoenn's champion and top coordinator would like to have a word." Everyone looked around as he was nowhere to be seen.

Just then several aqua rings rose from one of the pools, now floating above the stage. A turquoise orb followed, exploding between them and making the water sparkle. Then a tornado appeared, which soon started to glow green until it disappeared again in a bright, green flash, revealing a milotic in its full length. Wallace himself was riding her with his outfit being completely dry despite all the water thanks to Milotic's safeguard. He jumped off when It used surf and dived into the other pool. While the people were cheering, Marian handed him the microphone.

"Thank you. I'm glad to see so many people watching the contest and I hope that you will enjoy it to the fullest. I'm also happy about the enormous number of coordinators that followed our call to make this Wallace Cup an unforgettable event. We will see beauty, power and friendship between coordinator and pokémon. So let's start! Show me your skill! Show me that you are worthy of the next Aqua Ribbon! Give the good people here a show they'll never forget!" He gave the microphone back to the MC just as Milotic emerged from the water again, taking its place next to him.

"Coordinators, you heard our champion! But before we start I'll explain the rules and concepts of contests to those who don't know them yet," she announced.

It took a while before the first coordinator was finally able to make his appeal. Right after, it was May's turn. She was wearing the same dress she wore during the last Wallace Cup, probably because Drew and the others told her that they really liked it.

"Our second participant is May from Petalburg City in Hoenn!" Marian shouted.

"Kingdra, take the stage!" The water and dragon type appeared in one of the two big pools."Start with waterfall!" Her pokémon created a pillar of water, swimming to the top.

"Rain dance! Then twister!" Very dark clouds appeared above the stage, causing heavy rain while lightning illuminated them from within. Kingdra formed a tornado within the pillar of water, which made it look like a whirlpool, only much taller and more slender.

"More twisters!" Several other tornados rose next to the first one. Lightning was coming from the clouds. It was a truly frightening storm but May didn't think it was enough.

"Use hydro pump on the cloud!" A surprisingly massive stream of water came out of its snout, going right into the clouds, where it caused the rain to become much stronger.

"Now agility!" This raised its speed, which was already high because of its swift swim ability, to remarkable levels. Kingdra moved gracefully though the storm, evading the lightning strikes and the moving twisters with ease. Then it swam up the waterfall that had been turned into a whirlpool again, despite the strong current.

"Use dragon pulse!" The dragon pokémon shot a large, turquoise orb into it, making it expand while glowing green. It swallowed the other twisters, becoming even bigger before exploding with a green flash. At the same time the rain stopped, leaving only Kingdra itself.

May bowed to the audience which erupted into cheers.

"If you ever wanted to see one of Kingdra's legendary storms, you probably won't get a better impression!" Marian shouted. "Unless, of course, you get caught on a cruise. But you probably wouldn't like that."

Apart from the usual judges, Mr. Contesta, Mr. Sukizo and the local nurse Joy, Wallace himself also judged the appeals and battles. After the others gave some very good reviews, he spoke up.

"An appeal worthy of a powerful and majestic pokémon like Kingdra. Well done!" he told her.

"Awesome job, Kingdra!" The coordinator recalled her pokémon and went backstage where she was ambushed by her friends.

"A great appeal!" Dawn squealed. "You're as good as through!"

"You did well bringing out Kingdra's reputation," Drew agreed.

"I never thought appeals would look that good," Iris, who came to visit them along with Cilan, remarked. "Now I can't wait for the others."

"And the audience thinks the same way," Cilan said. "If it goes on like that, the event will be a huge success."

They talked a bit more until it was time for Kenny's appeal. His clothes were similar to those he used to wear during normal Sinnoh contests.

"The next coordinator is Kenny from Twinleaf Town in Sinnoh!" the MC announced.

"Empoleon, go!" He sounded not very excited, even a bit sad. "Use the blizzard missile!" Empoleon's beak glowed white when he started to spin rapidly, flying towards one of the pools quickly. Upon hitting the water, a frosty explosion occurred which froze it just as it was flying away by the force of the move. It created a crater-like terrain.

"Get it out of the water!" Empoleon jumped into the pool and, with all its strength, pushed the ice out of the water.

"Metal claw!" His pokémon formed the crude chunk of ice into a perfectly shaped ball.

"Ice beam on the water, then balance it on your beak!" The surface of the pool was frozen quickly. Then Empoleon grabbed the ball, walked over to the ice and placed it on the top of its beak. But instead of letting it spin, the emperor pokémon started to spin itself while the ball stood still. This was also the reason it chose the ice to stand on. It would have never worked on a less slippery surface.

"Drill peck!" Empoleon spun even faster now. Although nobody could see it, it used a very weak ice beam to counter the attrition of the ice. After a while, it hurled the ball up in the air with its wings glowing white.

"Metal claw!" It made a clean hit, which sliced the ball in half. Kenny and his pokémon bowed to the crowd, which enjoyed their performance quite a lot.

"What an interesting concept!" Marian shouted. "Instead of letting the ball spin, you just spin yourself. And the explosion at the beginning sure was powerful."

The judges saw it the same way and also complimented Empoleon its sense of balance.

"A wonderful idea to reverse the old trick. Definitely a worthy appeal!" Wallace remarked.

The others congratulated him backstage.

"It was a great appeal," Dawn told him. "I'm sure you'll pass this round."

"Thanks. We worked hard for this to work, after all," he replied emotionlessly.

"Hey, cheer up a bit. Even I think you did well," Drew said truthfully for once.

"Yeah, sure." Kenny just walked away without looking at them.

"Oh dear, he's really down. Maybe I was a bit too harsh to him?" Dawn asked when he was out of hearing range.

"You had to tell him. He wouldn't have given up otherwise," Ash told her. "By the way, what's with all the spinning appeals?"

"Well, it does look good so you can't blame people for trying it," Drew remarked. "Besides, it was the first one. Or are you referring to your own appeal? And maybe Dawn's?"

"Forget what I said," Ash answered, concentrating on the current appeal. "You'll see our appeals soon enough. Maybe you should prepare yours?"

"There's still a lot of time. I'll watch a few more," he replied.

The next appeals were not bad but nothing special either so Drew's would be a nice change.

"The next contestant won the last Johto Grand Festival. Let's welcome Drew from LaRousse City in Hoenn!" Marian shouted.

Drew got a big applause. He was wearing a fancy, green suit.

"Let's give them a show they'll never forget! Tentacruel, go!" he exclaimed.

"Start with toxic spikes!" His pokémon shot lots of purple glowing spikes in the air. As they were about to fall on the stage, he gave another command. "Catch them with your special bubbles!" It sprayed bubbles in all directions, which trapped the spikes inside. It made them glow purple.

"Freeze them with blizzard!" Drew commanded. Tentacruel froze the bubbles, which now fell down, with a quick storm of ice. Extending and using dozens of tentacles, it caught all of them before they could fall to the ground and break.

"Juggle them!" Tentacruel threw all the frozen bubbles in the air, before starting to juggle all of them with enormous speed. Despite many orbs flying around seemingly uncontrolled, Tentacruel had no problem keeping them in the air.

"Now spin around!" Even while spinning, it didn't drop even one orb. With time, it got faster and faster. Suddenly it threw them up in the air.

"Rapid spin!" The spin became so fast that its image started to blur. When the orbs fell down, Tentacruel didn't even attempt to catch them this time. Instead, they were shattered by the force of the tentacles. Upon destruction, they released some kind of purple smoke, which covered the stage but was soon dispersed by wind Tentacruel created with its movement.

Then Drew's pokémon stopped, striking a pose along with him.

"You will hardly find a better juggler than a Tentacruel," Marian shouted. "After all, they are said to have up to 80 tentacles."

Of course, Drew wasn't surprised to hear some very good reviews from the judges.

"A perfect control of dozens of arms at the same time," the champion told him. "I'm glad you decided to use this appeal here."

With a smug look on his face, Drew went backstage.

"See how awesome spins can be in a proper appeal?" he asked Ash when they met there again.

"Our appeals are just as good!" he replied. "Besides, you don't know whether you passed yet."

"I couldn't possibly fail after an appeal like this." Drew got a bit more serious. "Don't worry, I'm sure you'll do just fine."

"It's not me who I'm worried about." He casted a worried glance at Dawn who was watching the other appeals nervously.

_Why is she like that?_ he wondered_. After so many contests this should be a piece of cake. Zoey told me that she wasn't like that during their journey through Hoenn. So why now? _

"What do you mean? She looks normal to me," his friend claimed.

"No, there's something wrong. I can see it." Drew shook his head.

"Maybe it's because you know her better," he guessed. "Anyway, if it's true, you should talk to her and calm her down a bit."

Ash was thinking the exactly same thing. So he approached her during the break after the first 40 appeals. She was currently sitting alone at a table and has been eating the same sandwich for nearly 20 minutes now.

_This is not good. Not good at all,_ she thought. _Why am I so nervous all of sudden? Is it because of so many powerful coordinators participating? Or is it because of Ash? Am I afraid of embarrassing myself in front of him? We trained so much that I can't just lose in the appeals round now._

"Hey, what's bothering you?" He sat down next to her. "Don't even try to deny it."

"What?" She winced at his sudden appearance. "Oh, uhm, how can you tell something's wrong?"

"Oh come on. It's obvious. You have been spacing out quite often recently," he replied. "Why are you so nervous?"

"Well, it's just that this contest is so much bigger than those in Hoenn. Just imagine, only 16 of over 100 participants will go on to the next round," she explained. "Of course, I'm kind of nervous."

"You don't have to. You have already shown me your appeal. I'm absolutely sure you will make it. And then you'll win the Wallace Cup!" he reassured her. "Well, unless I beat you on the way there."

Somehow, these simple words made her feel a lot better.

_Even if I lose, he won't judge me. He's not that type of guy,_ she reassured herself. _I'll just do my best and it'll be fine._

"Thanks, Ash. I needed that." She finished her sandwich quickly. "But there's no way you will stop me now. Let's get back to the others, shall we?"

They met them backstage again, where they could already see the next appeals starting. Soon it would be Dawn's turn. Shortly before it was time for her, Ash wanted to wish her good luck but she was already gone. But since there was no time to look for her, he just waited for her appeal.

"Now it's time for Dawn from Twinleaf Town in Sinnoh!" Marian announced. Dawn was wearing her grand festival outfit, but in blue instead of yellow.

"Kabutops! Spotlight!" she exclaimed. "Start with rain dance!" He spun around a few times, causing dark clouds to appear above the stage, which started a heavy rain. It triggered his swift swim ability.

"Rock polish! Then swords dance!" His body started to faintly glow white while he was swirling his sickles, which glowed even brighter.

"Aqua jet! Go!" With great speed, he flew around, slicing the surface of the water. "Stone edge!" By shooting them at the right places, he drew patterns in the pools when they hit the water. After showing off his speed and the sharpness of his sickles a bit longer, the rain subsided and he stopped near one of the pools.

"Let's start the real show! Use waterfall and ice beam!" Kabutops swam up a big pillar of water, which rose from the pool, freezing it from above when he arrived at the top.

"Now swords dance, aqua jet and rapid spin!" Her pokémon jumped up high, his sickles glowing brightly once again. Then he got encased in water and began to spin while holding his sickles in front of him. It created a drill similar to the one in her battle against Trip.

"Go!" Suddenly, he shot down vertically, directly on the top of the frozen pillar, making his way through the ice to the bottom where he stopped. It was now completely hollow.

"Aurora beam!" A multicoloured beam was shot up the pillar, while the pokémon was spinning. As the surface was pretty irregular, it reflected the light accordingly to create a beautiful, glowing tube, which illuminated the whole contest hall in all kinds of colours. All the time, you could still see him spinning inside the tube as the lower part of the tube wasn't hit by the beam. But now it was time to finish it.

"Use screech!" Kabutops released a piercing noise, which first shook the pillar and then shattered it. Both Dawn and her pokémon bowed to the audience before the people cheered loudly.

"I must admit, I had to wonder whether someone put something in my drink during the break. I've never seen such a colourful appeal!" the MC shouted. The judges agreed with her, complimenting Dawn on a great appeal.

"A balanced appeal which showed the speed, power and beauty of your pokémon equally. I'm really impressed," Wallace told her, which almost made her heart stop.

"Thank you, Kabutops." She recalled him shakily and went backstage again. Before she could get back there, though, Ash found her, his arm already raised. She gladly gave him a high five.

"See? There was nothing to worry about," he told her.

"You're right. Thank you for your help," she replied excitedly. "Did you hear what he said? A compliment from Wallace himself!" Ash knew how much she admired the champion. She let out a squeal before she got serious again. "But we aren't done yet. There are still dozens of other great appeals."

"No need to worry, right? I'm sure we'll make it." They went back to the others, who were already watching the next appeal.

"Hey, Dawn," May greeted her. "That was an awesome appeal. And it's great you didn't freak out because of your hair this time."

"Yeah, Piplup had to calm you down with a bubble beam to the face back then." Zoey remembered that scene, which caused Dawn to blush. "Your calmness surprised me a bit as even May was pretty nervous today."

"Yeah, Dawn was very nervous at that time," Ash said. "But she's much better now. I have no doubt that she'll make it to the next round."

"I would be surprised if she didn't. It was a really good appeal," Zoey told him.

"If even Zoey says that, you'll make it without a problem." May said, laughing.

The last two appeals weren't bad although a bit similar to some previous ones. But with more than 100 appeals, this was bound to happen sooner or later. Hopefully, the judges would consider that. Then the first day of the Wallace Cup was already over. Most coordinators tried to relax for the rest of the day but Ash wanted to train instead. And Dawn volunteered to help him. Before they could do this, however, there was another thing: It was time for Misty, Tracey, Gary and Brock to leave.

Gary somehow managed to sneak away unnoticed. One day they tried to visit him and just found an empty room. Of course, they weren't too surprised as he had been very busy the whole time, rarely partaking in the others' activities.

Now it was time to say goodbye at the harbour.

"It's a shame you can't stay for the rest of the Wallace Cup," Ash said to Misty.

"It's alright. We came for you, not for the Wallace Cup. Besides, we can still watch it on TV. It was nice to see you again, even though it didn't work the way I hoped," Misty told her friend. "Take care and win that damn league for a change, will you?"

"I'll do my best," he replied, rolling his eyes. "And you take good care of your gym!"

"I will, unless my sisters have already ruined it completely." She shuddered, remembering the last time she left it to them. Misty turned to Dawn. "Get him! And if he makes trouble, visit me and I'll give you a mallet! Because of it, he won't forget the birthday of a close friend ever again."

"Oh, that explains it," Dawn mumbled, remembering her birthday. "As I've said, I don't think I'll need something like that."

"Maybe you could actually get through that thick skull of his," She gave her a hug. "Take care!"

"You too!" Dawn answered with a smile before Misty said goodbye to the others.

"Well, I'm sorry for having done this. It really caused you some trouble, didn't it?" Brock asked.

"It's alright." Ash waved it off. "You only tried to help her and I can't stay mad at an old friend like you."

"I'm glad. I'll miss the nurse Joy in Castelia City but at least I still have the one in Pewter City. Anyway, good luck in the league." He turned to the coordinators. "And good luck to you in the Wallace Cup."

"Have fun with your studies," they replied.

"Maybe he'll get a girl once he's a real doctor?" May remarked, which he fortunately didn't hear.

"I had a great time. Oh, and you're one lucky guy!" Tracey said to Ash, glancing at the girls briefly.

"What do you mean?" he asked, obviously not getting it.

"Still as dense as ever." Tracey sighed in frustration.

_He gets the girls without even trying_! he thought.

"Anyway, I hope you'll return to Kanto soon." Tracey turned to Dawn, handing he a folded paper. "I made this for you and Ash. Misty inspired me to do it. You deserve it for getting her out of this without too many tears shed. But look at it when you're alone! Otherwise it might be a bit embarrassing."

"Oh, thank you but I actually didn't do anything. They did it by themselves," she claimed.

"No matter, take it. You will like it, trust me," he just said.

"Okay, thank you again." She put it into her bag.

They chatted a bit more with May, Drew, Zoey, Iris, Cilan, Kenny and also Pikachu before going aboard. As the ship set off, they waved each other goodbye. Soon you could hardly see it anymore so they returned to their normal activities.

During the training Dawn revealed a few pokémon she hasn't shown him yet, including Metagross, Ninetales and Absol. It was then that she realized that he has only been using his Unova pokémon so far.

"Ash, I'm starting to wonder why you don't train with your Sinnoh pokémon or the others," she told him. "Why do you keep training with your Unova pokémon only?"

"Oh that." He seemed to be a bit embarrassed. "It's because of Trip. Since he's a new trainer I decided to use only the pokémon I caught in Unova in the league. It would be a bit unfair to wreck his whole team with Infernape."

"You boys and your pride!" she exclaimed. "So it's just to show him that you're the better trainer?"

"Well, technically, yeah," he answered, scratching the back of his head. Dawn just sighed.

"I know you can do it. You're just making it a lot more difficult than it is," she told him. "Anyway, let's continue!"

A few hours later, they went back to their respective rooms, too exhausted to continue. It would be his turn to do an appeal tomorrow.

There Dawn remembered the picture Tracey gave her. She wondered why he told her that she would be embarrassed if someone saw her looking at it. Then it hit her.

_Is it something dirty? _She blushed at the thought_. No, he didn't make that impression. Let's just have a look. Fortunately, Piplup is already asleep. _

It was beautiful to say the least. The picture showed a dark room, dimly lit by a few candles and the full moon behind a window. Her older self was sleeping on a couch with her head resting on Ash's lap. He was softly stroking her hair while looking at her lovingly. There was a peaceful expression of utter contentment on her face. He looked so mature and handsome to her. But the things that really caught her eye were the clothes. She was dressed as a bride and he was wearing the formal suit of a groom.

_It's … absolutely beautiful. _She looked at all the details and the emotions in that picture. They made her eyes shine. _No wonder he told me to look at it when I'm alone. My friends would tease me for the rest of my life. Anyway, I hope this will come true one day. _

Dawn looked at it a bit longer until she decided to finally go to sleep. She would have to thank Tracey somehow.

In the meantime, Ash was having trouble falling asleep. He was a bit nervous himself about his appeal. What would she say if he didn't make it past the appeal round? After all, he entered the Wallace Cup for her. But there was no point in worrying now.

_I'll just do my best and everything will work out_, he thought. _Still I don't want to make of fool of myself in front of her, I mean, all of them._

He also wondered why he was so nervous about something like that all of sudden as he usually wasn't like that. It took a lot of time until he finally dozed off.

A man in the typical black uniform of the Galactic Hunters commanders with long, red hair and cold, grey eyes was standing on a cliff, watching Canalave City below him. Next to him, a darkrai with glowing red eyes was floating.

"When is she finally going to show up? How many nightmares do we have to cause until she reveals herself?" he mumbled.

He has been waiting here for days now. But this day, it would finally end. A signal beam suddenly hit Darkrai in the back. The man turned around, looking at Cresselia floating high above their position.

"There you are. Darkrai, use dark pulse!" It shot a dark beam at its arch-enemy, who dodged it easily, countering with another signal beam, which hit her opponent.

"You useless thing! Can't you even dodge on your own? Do I have to tell you everything? Dark void!" The dark orb hit Cresselia without having any effect. Obviously she was protected by safeguard. She used future sight, firing a lightning bolt into the sky.

"Use dark pulse until she's finished!" he yelled. After his first dark pulse missed due to her speed, her eyes glowed blue and it got surrounded by a blue aura. "Miracle eye? I didn't know Cresselia could use that move. But it certainly explains a lot." She smashed Darkrai into the ground with psychic, where he was hit by a powerful lightning from the future sight attack. Another signal beam nearly finished it off.

"Enough!" he shouted. "No use fighting a legendary pokémon with one who won't even use its tremendous speed to dodge properly. Infernape, Houndoom, Camerupt, Magmortar, finish her!" Cresselia used psychic again to crush the ground they were standing on, causing them to lose balance. She followed up with a storm of hidden power orbs, which caused great damage to the fire types. Then she finished off Houndoom with psyshock.

"Wonderful! She lives up to her reputation. A psychic type that can even fight Darkrai! We must have it! Use flamethrower!" The three remaining pokémon shot streams of fire at Cresselia, who blocked all of them with protect. Another attack with hidden power knocked out Magmortar and activated Infernape's blaze ability. However, before it could do anything, Cresselia's psyshock knocked it unconscious as well, which only left Camerupt. As his trainer didn't bother giving a command, it could only watch as a psychic attack knocked it out.

"Well done," the man congratulated the psychic type. "But it takes more to defeat commander Phoenix! Heatran, show her real power! Start with magma storm!" A powerful storm of fire engulfed Cresselias surroundings, trapping her inside a large vortex of flames. She tried to attack it with psychic but it had only little effect due to its typing. "Now flamethrower!" Even more flames surrounded Cresselia, burning her badly while she couldn't move at all. As the view on her was blocked by the fire, Phoenix couldn't see that she used moonlight to heal herself while assembling dozens of hidden power orbs.

"That should take care of her." He raised his right arm, revealing one of their stone cannons. But when the smoke cleared, she was still floating there, having taken much less damage than he thought. Furthermore, she was ready for a counter attack. "Impossible!"

A storm of orbs hit the surprised Heatran, knocking it out.

"I knew it, it must be ground type," he recalled his fainted pokémon and readied another pokéball. "Alright, playing time is over. Darkrai, dark pulse! Come on out, Moltres! Use sky attack" As Cresselia was still recovering from the fight with Heatran, she couldn't dodge in time and was hurt badly, only to be hit by a powerful flying move which smashed her into the ground.

"Very good! But since she caused Heatran so much pain, hit her once more with flamethrower!" The flames hit her in the back, making her cry out in pain. Just then he shot her with his cannon, turning her to stone. "Magnificent! A piece of art! A pity the old man won't appreciate it. Anyway, let's do this."

He took out a device and pressed a button. Within seconds, several kadabra teleported to his position and brought him to one of their bases along with Cresselia.


	26. Chapter 26

**This took a bit longer than expected since I've been very busy and a bit unmotivated lately. I'm still not too happy with the result and may make some changes later.  
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**Disclaimer: I don't own Pokémon or its characters.**

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><p><span>Chapter 26: Results<span>

It was the second day of the Wallace Cup. Once more, most of the coordinators met backstage. Ash, Dawn and Zoey were happy to see an old friend again. And so was Nando.

"So wonderful to meet you again. I hope your journey has been a pleasant one?" he asked them after they greeted each other.

"Oh yes, we had a great time in Hoenn," Zoey told him. "But where have you been all the time?"

"I have been traveling through Kanto, earning ribbons, badges and catching new pokémon. I'm just missing one more ribbon and one badge." He saw their other friends behind them. "Would you mind telling me who your friends here are?"

"Sorry, we got a bit excited." Dawn then proceeded to introduce them to each other.

They continued to talk about their respective journeys. Although Nando seemed a bit strange to the others he was very nice and polite, offering advice whenever he could. Drew and May immediately felt that he was a powerful coordinator and his stories only confirmed their suspicions. Their conversation stopped, when the next participant was announced.

"Here is our next coordinator, Ursula from Veilstone City in Sinnoh!" Vivian, who was the MC of that day, announced.

"Poliwrath, it's show time!" she exclaimed, calling out the tadpole pokémon. Ursula was wearing a fancy, red dress, almost a bit over the top.

"Start with ice ball and use psychic!" It created a ball of ice, making it levitate with psychic. "Now water pulse!" An orb of water swallowed the ball, which made it glow brightly. Then Poliwrath used psychic again to move the glowing ball through one of the pools, where it seemed to absorb the water, growing in size considerably as the glow slowly faded. With great effort, Ursula's pokémon moved it to the ground as soon as it was big enough and dropped it. During the process, the ball froze completely.

"Use belly drum!" Now something strange happened. When it started to tap its stomach with its fists, the spiral on its belly began to move. Together with the monotonous drumming, it had a hypnotizing effect on the people. The looks on their faces got sleepy after looking at the spiral. Ursula watched this for a while, making sure that everyone had a good look.

"Now show them your power! Psychic on the ice! Shatter it with focus punch!" Once again, the ice rose from the ground, flying up high before it fell down with high speed. Poliwrath's right fist glowed brightly when it punched it with all its strength, literally pulverizing the enormous ice ball.

The people were enthralled by Poliwrath's performance and applauded it loudly.

"That had a strange beauty to it. And that punch was simply incredible," Vivian shouted.

The judges were also impressed by its skill and mysterious beauty.

"A very unique appeal," Wallace told her. "You can be proud of your pokémon's strength."

"Well done, Poliwrath!" She recalled her pokémon, bowed to the crowd and walked off again. She didn't go backstage, though, for some reason.

"She isn't too shabby." Drew finally broke the silence.

"I don't like her," May said. "There's something wrong with her attitude."

"You haven't even met her yet. How can you say that?" Ash asked.

"Well, Dawn has told me a few things about her. Besides, the expression on her face said everything," she claimed.

"Whether you like her or nor, she might prove to be a formidable opponent," Nando stated. "Better prepare yourself."

"You're right. By the way, isn't it your turn soon?" Dawn asked.

"Indeed. I shall go immediately," he replied.

A bit later, Vivian announced his appeal. His outfit didn't differ from his usual contest outfit.

"Next one up is Nando from Eterna City in Sinnoh!" she shouted at the crowd.

"Lapras, the stage is yours!" The audience looked in awe at the rare pokémon.

"Use ice beam!" By using ice beam repeatedly, Lapras created large pillars of ice. It seemed to be a bit random, until it started to connect them with more ice beams. Soon the ice started to resemble a building. With time, it reminded the people more and more of an icy, glittery palace. Lapras entered it, waiting for the next command.

"It's time for aurora beam and sing!" The multicoloured light from the beam was reflected by the walls, which resulted in a beautiful light show. The walls also made Lapras' song sound more ethereal than before. Everyone listened to the song itself and the echo, which only intensified it.

When it was over, Nando and Lapras received standing ovations.

"Simple, yet beautiful!" Vivian cried. "This is why we love contests so much."

Naturally, the judges were thrilled as well.

"You used only three different moves to create a gorgeous appeal like this. I'm impressed," Wallace told him.

"Thank you, Lapras. You have done very well." He recalled his pokémon and returned to his friends.

"An incredible appeal. I'm looking forward to meeting you in the battle round again," Zoey said.

"It would be my pleasure," he replied.

"Why does my appeal have to be that late today?" Ash complained to Drew, May and Dawn.

"Would you have liked to be number two instead?" May asked with a grin.

"Not exactly. But all this waiting is getting on my nerves," he told them.

"Maybe an ice cream will help you calm down?" Dawn suggested, remembering their little ice cream date in Sinnoh. "You still have a lot of time as your appeal won't be until after the break."

"Sounds good," he agreed. "Do you maybe want to join us?"

"No, thanks," Drew replied.

"I'll stay here too. I want to look at the other appeals," May told them. But most importantly, she didn't want to interrupt their moments.

"Okay, let's go." Dawn dragged him out of the contest hall and got some ice cream at a nearby booth.

They ate it in silence, simply enjoying each other's presence. Then they decided to go for a walk, talking about the upcoming league for a change. Then Dawn asked the question he was so tired of hearing. Nobody seemed to believe that he could do it just because he wasn't a professional coordinator. At least, that's the impression he got.

"So are you ready?" Ash just sighed.

"I think so. Dewott can't wait for it," he answered.

"No need to worry, right? You'll be awesome. I'm sure of it." He shook his head.

"I'll be fine, really! You don't need to worry about me so much." In truth he was glad that she cared about him so much.

"I'm sorry." She hung the head.

"Don't be. I'm grateful for everything you do." Her face lit up again. "We should get back now. Zoey's appeal is about to come up." She looked at her pokétch in shock. "Let's have a race!" Before she could react, he ran off.

"Hey, no fair!" she cried, running behind him.

"You have to be a lot faster than that to beat me!" he shouted. He watched her following him so he didn't see a small road hole. Dawn, on the other hand, had a perfectly good view on it.

"Watch out!" she warned him but it was too late. He tripped over it but regained his balance in time. She caught up with him. "Watch where you're running! You could have hurt yourself!" she yelled.

"Don't be mad! I'm alright. I just thought that the streets in Unova would be a bit better," he defended himself. After all, Trip claimed that his region was more advanced than the others.

"Honestly, you really worry me sometimes," she told him with a sigh.

"Maybe, but that's no reason to yell at me like that!" he claimed.

"Yes, it is! You mustn't be so reckless!" She tried to talk some sense into him.

It resulted in a small argument, in which no one wanted to give in. They yelled at each other a bit but in the end, they quickly realized how pointless it was.

"I'm sorry," Dawn apologized. "I was being stupid. But please be more careful next time."

"Well, I guess I was a bit too reckless. Sorry for worrying you." He especially thought of his outfit, which was the same as the one he wore during the last Wallace Cup. He wore it for her and would have never forgiven himself it had been damaged.

"Now that that's out of the way … let's finish our race!" she said, running off quickly.

Despite his complaints, she didn't slow down and won it narrowly in the end.

"If you … didn't have a head start, I … would have won," Ash said, catching his breath.

"You didn't … complain when you were … the one who ran off at first," she replied, doing the same.

"Let's just … let's just watch Zoey's appeal," Ash suggested.

"Sure," she agreed.

Just when they arrived backstage, Zoey's appeal was announced.

"Here's another top coordinator. It's Zoey from Snowpoint City in Sinnoh, who won the last Sinnoh Grand Festival!" As usual, her outfit looked more like a suit than a dress. It was like the one she wore during the last Wallace Cup but it was light green.

"Corsola, curtain!" she shouted. "Start with mist!" Corsola released a white, glittery cloud, which covered the stage.

"Aqua ring!" A large ring of water surrounded her pokémon now. "Use ancient power on it!" It shot a silver orb at the ring, which absorbed it and started to glow itself. Additionally, it now rotated about Corsola and caused the pokémon to float above one of the pools.

"More aqua rings!" Six rings formed next to it. "Use hidden power, shadow ball and power gem!" Each attack hit two aqua rings. Those hit by hidden power sparkled with electric energy. The shadow balls turned two others black as night. The last two simply increased in size and sharpness.

"Lucky chant!" Similar to the lucky chant used by her Mismagius during the grand festival, this one also released several red tentacles, which grabbed the aqua rings. Corsola used them to slice the water a few times to test the rings before the real show started.

"Use hidden power and psychic to control it." Zoey's pokémon released a lot of orbs, which it shot at itself with psychic. By using the turned aqua rings, it cleaved every single orb before they could hit it.

"Power gem again!" This time, small yellow orbs moved along the tentacles. When they reached the rings, they exploded with bright flashes, whose colour depended on the kind of ring. The first aqua ring also disappeared in a bright, white flash and Corsola fell back into the pool below it.

"Did you see the way Corsola controlled those aqua rings? That was amazing!" the MC shouted.

The judges didn't have a lot to say except that it was an excellent appeal.

"A most unique way to use lucky chant. I must admit, I would have never thought of it. Well done!" Wallace told her.

"Awesome job, Corsola!"Zoey recalled her pokémon, bowed to the crowd and went backstage again.

Drew was the first to talk to her.

"That was an interesting lucky chant. I didn't know you could use it like that," he remarked.

"It is one of her most unique moves. She has already used it against me to counter sing," Nando told him. "And it seems it has become even better since."

"Oh stop it," she said a bit embarrassed. "You're acting like I've already passed but nothing's sure yet. Besides, your appeals weren't bad either."

They continued to talk about it but Ash didn't listen. It would be his turn very soon. As Dewott has been looking forward to this for days now, he wouldn't let him down. A few appeals later the time has finally come.

"Good luck!" Dawn told him.

"I'll be fine," he replied, giving her thumbs up.

The MC announced his appeal.

"Here is Ash from Pallet Town in Kanto!" she shouted.

"Alright! Dewott, it's your turn!" He called out his water type, who looked really determined.

"Use ice beam on your scalchops!" Dewott threw them in the air, hitting them with ice beam. When he caught them again, they had glowing extensions of ice on their sides, making them look a bit like boomerangs.

"Now aqua jet and ice razor shell!" He rose up in the air using aqua jet with his scalchops ready in his hands. As they sliced the water, it froze instantly and even glowed the same way. Thus he created the image of an eye in the pool and repeated it in the other pool with the image being reversed this time. Then he flew up higher and spread his arms. The scalchops left a glowing white trail behind.

"Spin!" Instead of a linear trail, there was now a helix-shaped one. Since it lasted pretty long, it allowed him to make some complex drawings in the air, which looked like stylized letters. When he was finished, he flew above the two pools, still using aqua jet.

"Throw them!" Dewott crossed his arms in front of his chest before throwing his scalchops at the eyes on the pools. Just as before, both of them sliced the water with the ice looking like eyebrows this time before turning around like a boomerang and returning to Ash's pokémon, who caught them again. He removed the ice extensions by swirling them a bit and put them in their usual position. Then he flew back to Ash with aqua jet and struck a pose.

"A razor shell that acts like a boomerang! You people always find new ways to surprise me!" Vivian exclaimed.

Ash was relieved when he received good reviews from the judges.

"A great appeal! It seems you found a real artist in Dewott," Wallace finally said.

"Amazing job, Dewott! You deserve a good rest!" Ash knew that the constant use of aqua jet tired him out completely.

He was tackled to the ground by Dawn on his way back. She hugged him tightly.

"You did it! I told you it would be alright!" Just then she noticed how close they actually were and got off him, blushing madly. "Sorry, I got a bit overexcited."

"No problem. I'm pretty excited as well." He was just as red as Dawn when he took her hand, which she offered to help him up. In silence, they walked back to the others. Nando was the first to speak up.

"You have done well. I hope we will meet in a contest battle. After all, we already had a league battle," he told Ash.

"Yes, I would like that as well," he replied. "But first we have to pass the appeals round."

"Well, you don' have wait too long for that. There aren't many appeals left," May remarked excitedly. "I can't wait to see the results!"

"Calm down and just watch the rest," Drew said to her.

"Oh yeah? How can I possibly calm down when…" She didn't get to finish the sentence though, as Drew gave her a red rose. "Fine, I'll do my best."

"Ah, this warms my heart," Nando mumbled with a smile. He didn't want to disturb those two.

Together, they watched the rest of the appeals. There were some great ones among them but also some with major miscalculations, which usually caused the pokémon to get overwhelmed, thus ruining the appeal.

Finally, after the last one, the MC spoke up again.

"Ladies and Gentlemen! We have seen many wonderful appeals. But only 16 coordinators may pass this round. In ten minutes the results will be published along with the next battles," she told the audience and participants.

As time progressed, more and more coordinators arrived backstage. Everyone was waiting impatiently for the results. Among them was Ursula, who didn't do anything but stare at one of the screens for a change. It seemed like ages but exactly ten minutes later Vivian's voice could be heard again.

"The results are here! The following coordinators will get to the battle round!" 16 faces appeared on the screens.

Ash and Dawn found May, Drew, Zoey, Nando and finally themselves. They let out sighs of relief, which were mostly drowned by sighs of disappointment from those who didn't pass. They gave each other a high five as Drew gave May another rose to congratulate her. After having a closer look, they also found Kenny and Ursula among them. This wouldn't be easy to win.

"Congratulations to those who passed and better luck next time to those, who were eliminated. Don't feel too bad, the judges didn't have an easy time choosing," the MC told them. "Now let's proceed with revealing the battles!"

The screens now showed a graph, which determined the further battles. Ash's first opponent was Sarah from the Fallarbor Contest and the second one would be Drew, who was up against an unknown opponent, if they both managed to defeat them. May and Zoey also had opponents they didn't know and would meet in the quarter finals. The winner of that battle might fight against Ash or Drew in the semi finals. Dawn and Nando didn't know their opponents either and might become opponents in the quarter finals. The most interesting duel was Kenny against Ursula. So, unfortunately, Ash couldn't fight her until the final. On the other hand, he also wouldn't meet Dawn too early but Drew was a potential opponent in the quarter finals. Anyway, all of them were pretty content with the results.

"Are you already looking forward to meeting my pokémon in the quarter finals?" Drew asked Ash. "I won't hold back for you."

"We have to beat those two first," he replied. "And since they made it past the appeals round, it won't be an easy task."

"Ash's right." Zoey agreed with him. "Let's think about possible matches in the future later."

"She's absolutely right," May said to Drew. "Now let's go. We have more training to do."

Ash, however, decided to let his pokémon rest this day. It was a bit strange just watching the others but he knew that they deserved it after all their hard work. Dawn, on the other hand, trained hard with Vibrava, who was chosen to fight in her next battle. She had evolved from Trapinch shortly after her arrival in Unova and now Dawn was confident enough to use her in a real contest battle. May, her training partner this time, wanted to use Blastoise, whose power and typing made it a good choice. Ash already knew from the start which pokémon he would use in the first battle: Palpitoad.

Although he would never admit it, Ash had a lot of fun watching Dawn getting better and better.

_I remember the time when she was just a beginner,_ he thought. _She made a lot of stupid mistakes, like throwing that pokéball at my head. But that's okay. It kind of reminds me of the beginning of my own journey. And she's so much more skilled now. It's hard to believe she's the same Dawn I used to teach the basics of pokémon. I can't help but be proud of her progress. _

During a break, Dawn and May were sitting under a tree, talking about different contest moves while Ash was watching a rather heated battle between Drew and Zoey.

"Tell me, when are you going to make a move on Ash?" May asked all of sudden.

"What?" Dawn asked, confused about the question. "Why should I make a move on him?"

"Because he isn't going to do it. He's not that type of guy," her friend stated. "You'd have to wait forever."

"But what if he doesn't like me like that? It might ruin our friendship," she countered.

"He isn't that type of guy," May repeated. "You saw what happened between him and Misty and they're still friends."

"I'm still worried. Besides, I'm happy the way it is right now. Just being with him, training with him, spending time with him makes me really happy." She got a dreamy look on her face.

"You two are too innocent!" May said, frustrated. "It would so be much better if you were honest with your feelings, trust me!"

"She's right!" They looked above, where Iris was sitting on one the tree's branches. "Just get it over with!"

"How long have you been up there?" May asked angrily.

"Long enough. Anyway, it also worked for her and Drew so don't worry!" Iris claimed.

"What? There's nothing between me and Drew!" May yelled.

"Yeah, that explains the things I saw," the younger girl mumbled before turning to Dawn again. "Just confess to him!"

"Why is everyone so interested in that all of sudden? I'm out of here!" Dawn said and walked off.

"We should do something," Iris suggested.

"Yeah, it would be so romantic if they actually got together." May didn't have a plan yet, though.

The rest of the day went by quickly. They separated when it was time for sleep and went to bed. For some reason Ash couldn't fall asleep, though, no matter how much he tried. So he decided to go for a walk instead. He took his pokéballs but left Pikachu in the room as he didn't want to wake his friend. As usual, he was drawn to the training fields. There he heard a familiar voice.

"Piplup, ice beam with medium strength! Vibrava, hidden power!" Ash quickly went to the source of the voice where he saw Vibrava's orbs absorbing the power of the ice beam by spinning next to it. As soon as Piplup realized that, he stopped to the side so that they wouldn't hit him.

"Very good!" Dawn, who was standing behind Vibrava, said. "Let's try the blizzard counter again, but with full power this time!"

Piplup released a storm of ice and the vibration pokémon used a variation of sandstorm, which allowed her to surround herself with a sphere of sand. Since it was rotating, the surface was cooled down evenly so only very little cold made it to the center. Thus Vibrava received only very little damage despite her double weakness. Then she let the sphere burst, which damaged Piplup a bit and the sand clouded his vision.

"Well done! It shouldn't be a problem for you anymore. Thank you, Piplup." But Vibrava wasn't content yet. "You want to take a test with a full strength ice beam? Alright, get ready, Piplup!" It took him a while to get the sand out of his eyes. Espeon, who stepped out of the shadows, helped him with that.

"Now ice beam, full power! Vibrava, hidden power!" The orbs had a lot more trouble this time, but in the end they managed to stop the beam and get through to Piplup, who dodged just in time. "Awesome job! Now you don't need to worry at all."

Ash wondered why she was training in the middle of the night so he revealed himself.

"Tell me, Dawn. It's after 11 pm. Why are you still out here, training?" he asked. Needless to say, she was rather shocked to see him all of sudden.

"Ash? What … Vibrava just asked me to do something about her weakness to ice. So we went here and trained to strengthen her defenses," she explained. "We are a bit lucky that her hidden power type is ice so we can use it to absorb the power of moves like ice beam or ice shard, although rock, steel or fighting type would probably be even better to simply overpower them. Anyway, she made great progress."

"I saw that," Ash replied.

_Amazing! She went here at this time just because her pokémon requested it_, he thought. _She's so devoted to her pokémon. Maybe I can help her?_

"Would you like me to help you a bit?" he offered.

"Actually, we are done. Why are you even here? Shouldn't you be sleeping?" Ash realized that it might seem like he was spying on her.

"I couldn't sleep so I went for a walk. Then I heard you and you know the rest." He got an idea. "How about we just have an ordinary training session? I doubt that I could fall asleep right now anyway."

"Why not? I'm not feeling too tired right now." But this wasn't entirely true. She was actually pretty tired. She just didn't want to disappoint him by declining.

Time went by quickly and before Ash knew it, it was already 1 am. Dawn seemed extremely tired now. Fortunately, her battle would be one of the last this day.

"We should go now," he suggested. "We've trained for nearly two hours."

"Just … just give me a moment." She sat down at a nearby bench. A few minutes later, Ash was getting impatient.

"Come on, you can rest at your room." When there was no answer, he walked over just to see that she has fallen asleep. He saw no other choice but to carry her to her hotel room. She proved to be lighter than expected so he had no trouble with that. He actually even enjoyed it.

Together with her pokémon, he went to her hotel room, where he dropped her on her bed and covered her with the blanket.

"Sweet dreams," he whispered, getting very close to her face.

Then he left her in her pokémon's care and went back to the pokémon center. The next day would be hard for both of them.

* * *

><p>Looker was inspecting the location of a recent battle between the Galactic Hunters and Team Rocket, when he got a call.<p>

"Sir, we have news about the devices they use to control pokémon," one of the other members of the international police told him.

"So what is it?" he asked.

"One of the former scientists of Team Galactic finally talked. It seems they are the remains of the Red Chain Project." Looker's eyes widened.

"You mean those things they use to control the lake guardians and even Dialga and Palkia? This is horrible! But how did they get the information on it. Even we know next to nothing about it. They must have a very high ranking Team Galactic scientist among them," he concluded.

"What shall we do?" Looker thought about it for a while.

"Observe the lakes. Although I doubt that they would try to do the same thing as Cyrus again, we have to make sure. They might want to catch them simply to use them in their war against Team Rocket. Oh, and alarm the professor," he added.

"Yes, sir!" the other member replied and hung up.

This information was very disturbing to say the least. Nobody could say what else they might be able to do with those things.

* * *

><p><strong>Credits and thanks for the idea of the Ice Razor Shell go to the Composcreator.<strong>

**The little argument was inspired by the one during the arc with Kotone/Lyra.**

**I'm fully aware of the fact that Ursula's and Nando's hometown were never mentioned in the anime so I had to make those up. I think those two were among the most logical choices.**


	27. Chapter 27

**Mostly action in this one with more or less detailed battles. Not really my favourite one.**

**Disclaimer: I don't own Pokémon or its characters.**

* * *

><p><span>Chapter 27: Victories and Losses<span>

The appeals were finally over and it was time for the people to see some real contest battles. The MC of the day was Lilian from Kanto.

"Welcome everybody to the third day of the Wallace Cup!" she shouted at the excited crowd. "So get ready for the best of the best! Let's start with Drew from Hoenn and Marcus from Johto!"

"Roserade, time for battle!" Drew had an arrogant look on his face.

"Lanturn, go!" For some reason, the other coordinator seemed to be a bit frightened. Maybe he had heard that Drew was a top coordinator and formidable opponent. "Ice beam!"

"Counter with sludge bomb!" The ice beam was pretty weak as it froze the attack but couldn't push it back so Lanturn was hit by a big chunk of ice. It got up right after.

"Thunderbolt!" This one was already way stronger.

"Ingrain," Drew said with a yawn. Roots emerged from Roserade's legs, digging into the ground. When the thunderbolt hit it, the energy went there. Then the grass type retracted them again.

"Alright, just testing. Now use whirlpool, discharge and signal beam!" The discharge made the whirlpool sparkle with electric energy. The signal beam moved it towards Roderade and made the whirlpool glow in different colours.

"Petal dance!" Drew's pokémon created an equally large tornado of petals, which collided with the whirlpool. As water flooded the stage, the grass type jumped up high and fired the remaining, electrically charged, petals at Lanturn, who was hurt badly.

The rest of the battle went on like this. Drew left the initiative to Marcus and countered all of his attacks with ease. So it was no surprise when he had a lot more points after the five minutes.

"And the first coordinator to advance to the quarter finals is Drew! Congratulations!" Lilia announced.

"Well done, Roserade." He recalled his pokémon, waved to the applauding crowd and returned backstage.

May was a bit worried about him.

"You shouldn't be so overconfident," she warned him after the congratulations from the others. "It might lead to your defeat."

"Hey, I take my opponents seriously," he claimed. "It's not my fault I haven't met anyone who could put up a good fight yet."

But she wasn't convinced. He has been behaving like that ever since he won the Johto Grand Festival. It seemed the success got the better of him. Anyway, she decided to just watch the battles for now until it was her turn.

"Our next match is Julia from Kanto against Nando from Sinnoh!" the MC announced.

"Go! Seaking!" Julia shouted.

"Altaria, it's your time to shine!" Nando said calmly, calling out the dragon type.

It became clear quickly, that she was a stronger coordinator than Marcus. Seaking was fast and strong but he had some trouble when Altaria flew up too high. Nando had to use everything he had to beat her, which resulted in a narrow victory as he had a few more points left.

"And Nando wins the match after exciting five minutes!" He walked up to his defeated opoonent.

"You have done well. It was a wonderful battle and you certainly deserve being here," he told her.

"Thank you and congratulations. You were better today so you deserve this. But next time, I will be better so prepare yourself," she said, shaking hands.

Both of them thanked and recalled their pokémon. Then it was already time for the next battle.

"Next up are Myra from Kanto and May from Hoenn!" They received a big applause from the people, who started to like the battles more and more.

"Blastoise, take the stage!" Nando's narrow victory only confirmed her worries that those guys were no pushovers.

"Slowking! Battle time!" Myra was pretty confident that she could win this. "Use psyshock!"

"Get into the water!" Blastoise evaded the attack that way. "Now use rapid spin!" It produced some waves, which washed over Slowking without doing much damage, though. It was very tough.

"Use psychic!" Slowking created a maelstrom at Blastoise's location, which trapped it. "Time for psyshock!" Now it shot many purple glowing energy balls in the air. When they fell down, the whole maelstrom was covered by the attack. One of the orbs hit Blastoise but it didn't do a lot of damage, as it used withdraw.

"Hydro pump!" Water came out of the holes in its shell as it began to spin rapidly. It rose from the maelstrom, launching itself at Slowking.

"Zen headbutt!" With all its strength, Slowking smashed its head against the shell, which sent both of them flying into different pools. Unlike Slowking, Blastoise quickly got out.

"Now use skull bash!" It lowered its head, preparing the attack.

"Counter with zen headbutt again!" Myra knew that nothing could break its crown.

"Now flash cannon!" May commanded when Blastoise dived into the water. Her pokémon shot a silver stream of light at Slowking who was blinded and couldn't defend itself. It also made the pool glow from the inside, which decreased Myra's points further. The skull bash itself smashed Slowking against a wall of the pool.

"Use psyshock!" Once more, it shot purple energy balls at its opponent, who swam up to the surface.

"Rapid spin!" With great speed it bounced off the water while moving to evade the energy balls that came from the depth and rose up like fireworks.

"Surf! Now!" Slowking itself emerged from the water, riding a large wave and hit Blastoise from below, sending it flying. Myra's pokémon jumped on solid ground again. Blasotoise, on the other hand, quickly recovered and moved towards it the same way it dodged the psyshocks. "Use hidden power!"

"Hydro pump once more!" Similar to the first time, it used the move while in its shell. This time, however, instead of attacking, it used it as a spinning shield, which reflected the light blue orbs. In addition to being hurt by its own hidden power, it also received damage from the hydro pump.

"Psychic!" Blastoise stopped suddenly, surrounded by a blue aura, and was pushed into the water below. This gave Slowking some time to recover.

"Use flash cannon! Then skull bash!" The water lit up, which made it impossible for Slowking to see where its opponent would come from.

"Use zen headbutt once you spot it!" After nearly half a minute of waiting, something emerged from the water and the light stopped. But instead of a pokémon, those were just a lot of hidden power orbs. They didn't attack Slowking, though. They just floated above him. While the pokémon was distracted, Blastoise emerged on the other side, hitting it hard.

"Now aqua tail!" Its tail grew longer, glowed blue and hit Slowking into the bunch of hidden power orbs. This caused a colourful explosion, sending Slowking back into the water. When it was back up again, the time was already over.

"And the winner is May! Congratulations!" Myra didn't take the loss very well. She simply ran off after recalling her pokémon. May thought that she saw tears in her eyes. But someone had to lose. May just was better this time.

"Great job! Have a good rest," she told her pokémon before recalling it.

Drew was the first to congratulate her, when she went back to the others.

"Well done. Although you got me worried there for a second at the beginning," he added with a hair flip.

"At least I gave the audience a more exciting battle," she countered.

"I didn't choose my opponent. Besides, the audience loves me anyway." May sighed. With that attitude, he wouldn't come very far.

But now it was Kenny's turn.

"It is a Sinnoh duel now. Please welcome Kenny and Ursula!" This battle would be different from the last ones.

"Floatzel, go!" Kenny shouted.

"Vaporeon, it's show time!" Ursula had a plan. "Use shadow ball!"

"Dodge it and use quick attack!" Floatzel evaded it easily and closed the distance.

"Iron tail!" Vaporeon blocked its attack. "Ha! Your moves are as weak as your attempts to gain Deedee's attention!"

"What?" Kenny's eyes narrowed. "What did you just say?"

"You heard me. How can you possibly hope to beat me if you aren't even good enough for her?" she asked with a smirk. "And she's already pathetic."

"How dare you! You not only insult me but also one of my best friends like that! Floatzel, brick break!" he yelled.

"Useless! Use iron tail again!" Once again, the attack was blocked.

"You must be pretty lousy to have to rely on such tactics," he remarked all of sudden. "No wonder Dawn has beaten you so often." The look on her face was more satisfying than even a victory in this battle could ever be. At least that's what he thought at the moment.

"You filthy, little bastard! Vapoeron, use bite!" It bit its opponent who retaliated with another brick break.

The fight went on like this for a while with both coordinators insulting each other and their pokémon attacking each other with physical moves in close combat. It was an ugly battle so, of course, the audience wasn't pleased at all. But neither Kenny nor Ursula cared about that right now.

Although Floatzel was physically stronger and also faster, Vapreon had one major advantage: Wish. Together with its ability of becoming nearly invisible in water made it last much longer than normal. In the end the coordinators were so angry that they didn't even consider using anything but brute force.

Finally, Floatzel was finished and collapsed.

"Ha! I won against your lousy pokémon!" Ursula shrieked.

"Don't feel bad. You did your best," Kenny mumbled, recalling his pokémon. "You will be knocked out soon enough." Those were his last words for her before he went backstage again.

Just then Ursula noticed how the people looked at her. It began to dawn on her that she made a complete fool of herself.

"Return!" She didn't even wait for further comments by the judges. Instead, she just walked away, trying to hide until it was time for her next battle.

Meanwhile, Kenny was with his friends again.

"Why did you do this?" Dawn was visibly angry. "I don't know what she said but was it worth it?"

"Yes, it wasn't pretty. That was a cheap way of getting knocked out," Drew agreed.

"I regret nothing. She deserved it for insulting you, me and all our friends," Kenny told Dawn.

"She also insulted them?" She calmed down when she heard that.

"Yeah, she went too far this time. It's just a shame she won in the end." He sighed. "Anyway, I better go back to Hoenn now and prepare for the Grand Festival."

"Why so early? You can still watch the rest of the Wallace Cup," Zoey suggested.

"No, there's no reason for me to stay here. It would probably only hurt me." He glanced at Dawn shortly, who didn't notice it but Zoey understood.

He saw Ash and Dawn when they trained together in the middle of the night as he was making some final preparations himself. The way she looked when she was with him and seeing him carry her to her hotel destroyed his last hope of ever getting together with her.

"It's a pity. But we'll meet at the grand festival again and maybe then I'll get you back for my last loss," Dawn told him, a bit disappointed. On the other hand, she was glad that he appeared to have given up on her.

"Count on it." It was then that he noticed that Ash wasn't there. "Where's Ash? Is he already battling?"

"Any second now." May pointed at a nearby screen, where his battle was announced.

"Alright, as I'm sure you want to watch him, I'll quickly take my leave. Bye, everyone. See you at the grand festival, Dawn and Zoey. And good luck to all of you!" Everybody thought that it was a bit rushed but it was his decision. They said goodbye to him before they turned back to Ash's battle.

"Believe it or not but I'm actually going to miss him," Drew said to everyone's surprise. "His jealousy was just hilarious."

"Quiet, the battle is starting." Besides, Dawn didn't like that topic.

Ash and his opponent were about to call out their pokémon.

"Palpitoad, I choose you!" he exclaimed.

"Go! Pelipper!" Sarah shouted. "Start with wing attack!"

"Get in the water!" Palpitoad went to the bottom of one of the pools, evading his opponent's attack that way.

"Aerial ace!" Pelipper dived gracefully into the water several times and although it didn't make a clean hit, its speed and elegance decreased Ash's points. However, he got an idea how to counter it, remembering the time he caught Palpitoad.

"Use mud shot repeatedly!" The first few shots didn't do a lot but soon the water was too muddy to see through it. Now Pelipper couldn't launch his attacks anymore because he didn't know where the vibration pokémon was. "Now scald!" An extremely hot stream of water shot up, nearly hitting the water bird pokémon. Even though Palpitoad couldn't see his opoonent either, the scald attacks decreased Sarah's points considerably as they resembled a geyser. Diving into the water didn't help due to the mud clouding the view even underwater. It took her a while to make a proper counter.

"Dive into the stream at full speed and endure it!" When Ash's pokémon used scald again, it flew down and just followed the stream. Being a water type, Pelipper didn't take a lot of damage and finally hit a surprised Palpitoad. It grabbed him with its massive beak and got out of the water again. Then it dropped him in midair, causing him to have a hard landing on the ground between the pools. "Ice beam on the pools!" It froze the water so that Palpitoad wouldn't be able to use his tactic again.

Ash was in a tight spot now. Despite having more points at the moment and Palpitoad being tough, he had problems with Pelipper's speed and resistance to water moves. As it attacked him with aerial ace repeatedly, his points slowly went down without Palpitoad taking a lot of damage. His own attacks either missed or did little damage. Just when she had a few more points Ash noticed that Pelipper's movements followed a certain pattern. Since time was about to run out, he had to act quickly.

"Looks like he's going to lose it," Drew remarked backstage.

"Nonsense!" Dawn replied. "He'll find a way. Come on, Ash! You can do it!"

"Behind you! Use super sonic!" Ash shouted. Palpitoad obeyed, hitting Sarah's pokémon who appeared there just one second later. It lost its orientation, crushing into the ground. "Now mud shot!" Several attacks later, Pelipper was covered in mud, which stopped it from flying away and clouded its sight. He followed up with even more mud shots, not allowing his opponent to get away now.

Finally, a signal marked the end of the battle, which Ash won as he had more points left.

"He did it!" Dawn screamed, hugging the nearest person, which happened to be Zoey before going to the stage herself, determined to do her part.

"You did your best, Pelipper. Return for now." Sarah was disappointed but congratulated Ash nonetheless. "You have done well and deserve getting to the next round. Good luck."

"Thank you. And thank you too, Palpitoad. Awesome job," He recalled his pokémon and returned backstage.

"Good job!" May told him. "If you're looking for Dawn, she's already on her way to her own battle. Seems like she wants to do her duty before she sees you."

"Duty? It's no shame getting knocked out of this tournament. The coordinators here are really strong. By the way, where's Kenny?" he asked. But the fact that May knew exactly that he was looking for her made him think.

"He's already on his way back to Hoenn," Zoey told him. Then she pointed at the screen. "Look, there she is."

Ash wondered why Kenny chose to leave so early but now he concentrated on the battle.

"Please welcome Dawn from SInnoh and Simon from Johto!" Lilian announced.

"Vibrava! Spotlight!" It was the first contest battle for the vibration pokémon.

"Feraligatr! It's your turn!" The big water type roared when it was called out. "Start with water pulse!" To everyone's surprise it just ate it, which made it become surrounded by a blue aura. "Now hydro pump!" The stream of water was stronger than usual so Dawn concluded that eating the water pulse powered it up.

"Use double team!" She managed to evade the attack that way but she couldn't make a proper counter attack until the effect wore off. So Vibrava just dodged the attacks for a while. Soon the aura disappeared and Feraligatr looked somewhat confused, which seemed to be a side effect at the end.

"Get in the water!" Simon thought his pokémon was safe in there but he was wrong. So wrong.

"Now's our chance! Use super sonic! Full power!" The dragon type flapped her wings rapidly near the water surface, which started to vibrate. It caused the people in the hall to feel uneasy but Feraligatr suffered a lot. As it was underwater, the sonic wave was much faster and it held its head in a futile attempt to block it out. Simon tried to tell it to get out of the water but the pokémon couldn't hear him. After a while, it attempted to get out by itself. With a very irregular and odd movement it swam up to the edge of the pool where it stayed to recover, still holding its head.

"Behind you!" Simon warned it.

"Use dragon breath!" A green beam hit it in the back and it turned around, half of its body still in the water.

"Ice beam!" Despite the confusion, Feraligatr managed to shoot it right at Vibrava who countered it with hidden power as a reflex. The orbs absorbed the power of the beam, hitting the area around the big jaw pokémon. It couldn't move its arms or legs now due to the ice. "Damn it! Try blizzard!" Similar to the training battle, Vibrava formed a sphere of sand with sandstorm, which protected it from the cold and shot it at Feraligatr, effectively blinding it. "Water pulse!" Simon shouted desperately.

"It worked just like during the training," Ash mumbled, smiling. "I knew this wouldn't be a problem for you."

"I have to remember that move for Flygon." Even Drew seemed to like it.

"Use hidden power again and follow up with steel wing!" Dawn ordered. Every single water pulse that the water type shot blindly at her got hit by an orb, which froze them upon impact. Then she sent them back, using her wings as bats. All of them released blue light upon impact. Now Vibrava was so confident that she tried to attack it from behind with steel wing.

"Hidden power! Behind you!" Although Feraligatr couldn't see her, it still shot the orbs at Vibrava.

"Protect!" She blocked them just in time. "Alright, Vibrava. It isn't over yet so don't get overconfident." Dawn's pokémon nodded. She wouldn't make the same mistake again. Simon's pokémon used the distraction to break free from its ice prison and get rid of the sand in the eyes. However, the time was almost over so Simon tried to win by knocking out Vibrava. Now that his pokémon could move freely again, it could use another ice attack.

"Use ice fang!" Vibrava evaded it by simply flying up higher so it couldn't bite her. Shortly after, it was already over with Dawn as the winner.

"You did it! Well done!" she told her pokémon who was equally happy about it.

"It's alright, Feraligatr. We can be proud that we made it this far." He turned to Dawn. "I think I have learnt a lot. Thank you and good luck!"

"Good luck to you too!" she replied and returned to the others.

Unsurprisingly, the first one to meet her there was Ash.

"You did it!" he said, giving her a high five.

"WE did it!" she corrected.

"You're right. But that's just the beginning. I'm up against Drew next," he told her.

"Well, my next opponent is Nando. Not any easier," she replied.

"Hello? We're here too, you know?" Drew interrupted them and received an elbow to the ribs by May. "What?"

"That's what you get for interrupting other peoples' moments!" Ash and Dawn merely looked at each other confused.

"What are you talking about? We were simply congratulating each other," Dawn pointed out, not understanding what this was about.

"Anyway, we should watch Zoey's battle now. It has already begun." May was right. Zoey and her opponent, a coordinator from Kanto called Bill. They've just called out Swellow and Vileplume respectively.

"Use poison powder!" Bill commanded.

"Blow it away with whirlwind!" Although Swellow sent the powder back at Vileplume, it had no effect since it was also a poison type.

"Try sludge bomb!" Swellow could easily dodge the attack due its excellent speed. Together with the occasional aerial ace it lowered Bill's points quickly. But it was far from finished. When Swellow attacked again, Vileplume used stun spore, paralyzing the flying type. "Sludge bomb again!"

"Use whirlwind! Full power!" The wind sent the sludge bomb right in Vileplume's face and blew it into the water. "Follow up with air slash!" The grass type braced itself but the two disc-like energy blades hit the water next to it instead, creating two waves, which crashed into the pokémon from both sides. A few seconds later, it surfaced again, heavily breathing, only to be welcomed by more air slashes. This time they were aimed straight at it and as it couldn't move out of the way fast enough, it was hit hard.

Vileplume tried to get out the water and counter the attacks for a while but the air slashes made short work of every attempt. Bill's pokémon didn't even manage to make one more, clean hit. It only kept itself from fainting by using synthesis several times.

Unsurprisingly, Zoey had a lot more points in the end.

"I'm sorry, Vileplum. And I'm sorry that I couldn't give you a better battle," Bill said to Zoey.

"Everyone has such days. Just keep going and it will work out," she tried to encourage him.

"Thank you and good luck in your next battles. And next time we meet, I'll be much stronger!" he promised.

"You can have a nice, long rest now. Thank you." Zoey recalled her pokémon and left the stage.

The one most excited about the battle was May since Zoey was her next opponent.

"Well done! But I won't make it that easy for you. Better prepare to lose," she told her.

"I don't think so. You've already won last time and I won't lose again! But let's just give them a battle to remember," Zoey said.

"Right!" May agreed.

"It seemed you had no problem," Dawn pointed out. "I must say I expected a bit more from your opponent."

"You're probably also thinking of your and my opponent. Well, just being able to make a good appeal doesn't make you a good battler. Their pokémon were lacking speed and power to pose a threat," Drew explained. "Just be glad that you got it easy because it won't stay that way. Just imagine you would have had to battle me at first. Not very nice to lose the first battle."

"With that attitude, you'd be the one to be knocked out," May said before walking away with him following.

"Hey, what was that about?" he asked.

"You're getting a bit too arrogant for your own good lately," she replied. "Even more than usual."

"I proved how strong I am. What's wrong with it?" He didn't understand what she meant.

The others watched them as they went back to the pokémon center.

"What's wrong with them?" Ash asked, confused about the scene.

"I think she's worried about him," Dawn guessed.

The current battle was pretty uninteresting and the next one was in about one hour. Ash, Dawn and Zoey recognized one of the coordinators who were currently battling. It was Kyle, someone from the last Wallace Cup, who knocked Ash out of the tournament. This time, however, they wouldn't meet unless both of them made it to the final. Soon he gained the upper hand and won by lowering his opponent's points to zero. Lilian spoke up again.

"We have seen many great battles but it is far from over. After a short one hour break the quarter finals await you! The first match will be Ash versus Drew! You don't want to miss that!" she announced.

Ash and Dawn spent the hour discussing the recent battles. Especially Drew's performance compared to Ash's.

"With his current skill, I don't know whether I can win against him," he confessed.

_It feels strange, _he thought._ Usually, I'm not that nervous, even if it's something I'm not used to like a contest. Is it because of her? Does she have that kind of effect on me now? _

"Don't say something like that!" she scolded him. "What would your pokémon think? You will battle him and you will win! No buts!"

"Yes, I can't back down now. Thanks. We'll just do our best." He still could hardly believe how serious he took this. But that's just him being him. If he entered something he would try to win it. Even if it was just a contest he entered to defend someone.

"By the way, I woke up in my bed today but the last thing I remember is us training in the middle of the night. Do you know what happened?" she asked suddenly.

"Oh, you fell asleep there so I had to carry you to your room. That's all," he replied.

"I know. Espeon told me. I just wanted to hear it from you." She giggled. "Thank you. And sorry for causing you trouble."

"It's no problem." He waved it off. "You were pretty light, after all." He didn't tell her that he enjoyed it, though.

"But imagine someone you know would have seen you. Have fun explaining to him that I fell asleep after training till about 1 am." He didn't think of it that way.

"True. They might have thought we …" He blushed when he realized just what they might have thought. Even he knew enough about those matters to realize that it could have become an awkward moment. Dawn thought that Ash looked cute, blushing like that. She did the same when Espeon told her about the situation. But since she also sensed that the topic was becoming uncomfortable, she changed it.

"So, tell me, Ash. Have you already decided which pokémon to use?" She slapped herself in her mind.

_Way to go, Dawn!_ she thought. _The battle will begin in less than one hour. Of course he has already decided! He must think I'm an idiot._

He took the question seriously, though and made sure that nobody else was listening before he answered.

"Dewott wants to have a real battle so I'll use him. What about you?" he asked.

"Magnezone should be perfect for this," she replied.

"Magnezone?" Ash was surprised. "I didn't know you had a magnezone."

"It isn't exactly a contest pokémon. I caught it as a magneton and it evolved during a short trip near Mt. Coronet. We have trained a lot before I arrived in Castelia City. I trust it completely. If Nando stays true to his style it will be a good counter," she explained.

"I don't think he will abandon his style for even one battle," he agreed. "But why is it a good counter?"

"Oh, you'll see. It'll be fun, believe me," she said enthusiastically.

They talked like this for a while. It helped them deal with their nervousness. The others were busy with their own preparations.

Zoey snuck away, probably preparing something special for May. She, on the other hand, had a small argument with Drew and it didn't end too well. Not even offering one of his roses helped this time. Nando simply disappeared and nobody knew where to find him.

When the time was over, everyone except Ash and Drew, met backstage again. The quarter finals were about to begin.

* * *

><p><strong>No big surprises in this one. The next battles will probably be more exciting.<strong>

**Credits for Ash's geyser move go to the Composcreator.**


	28. Chapter 28

**Hopefully, the next chapter will complete the event.**

**Disclaimer: I don't own Pokémon or its characters.**

* * *

><p><span>Chapter 28: Electric Battles<span>

"Welcome back to the battle round of the Wallace Cup. The quarter finals are about to begin!" Lilian announced. "Our first battle is between Ash and Drew. Enjoy!"

"Dewott! I choose you!" The pokémon seemed all fired up.

"Jolteon! Show him what a contest is about!" Drew smirked. He even had a type advantage. "Start with hidden missile!" Ash didn't know that attack but he was soon enlightened. Jolteon created hidden power orbs, which surrounded it before using pin missile. Lots of spikes came from its fur and absorbed the power of the orbs.

"Dodge it and counter with hydro pump!" That wasn't easy though. The spikes didn't attack simultaneously so he didn't get the chance to make a move. He managed to dodge the spikes, which froze the water when they hit, creating small platforms of ice. Then he could finally use hydro pump.

"Wild charge!" Jolteon was surrounded by a sparkling aura when he used the platforms to move above the water, dodging the water move easily. "Thunderbolt!"

"Deflect it!" Dewott took one of his scalchops and used it to reflect the thunderbolt. However, Jolteon was already behind him due to its incredible speed and attacked with wild charge, pushing Dewott into one of the pools. "Get out of there! Use dig!"

"Use thunder!" The massive attack shocked everything inside the pool. "That should take care of it." But then Dewott appeared right behind him, having just dug his way to the surface. He had also used ice beam to close the tunnel behind him so that the electric move wouldn't follow him.

"Well done. Razor shell!" Jolteon dodged it easily, though.

"Wow, it's fast," Dawn exclaimed.

"Speed alone won't be enough to beat Ash," May replied.

Drew was getting a little irritated.

"Agility and wild charge!" As it started to move around Dewott with increasing speed, it left behind a glowing trail, which soon turned into a wall surrounding the pokémon. When the water type touched it, he got shocked. "Got you! Close it!"

"Razor shell while spinning!" This move damaged the walls as they came towards him but it couldn't destroy them. Still, the damage was lowered quite a bit.

"He's really good. But Ash will find a way." Dawn was convinced that he could do it.

"Definitely possible." May didn't take her eyes off the screen for even one second.

Despite both pokémon being mostly unharmed, Drew had more points right now. And he wouldn't stop until his victory was ensured.

"Use agility again!" Its speed increased even more.

"Hydro pump while spinning!" Despite its speed, Jolteon got hit as the attack covered nearly the whole stage. "Now aqua jet!" Once again, Jolteon proved to be too fast for Dewott. He either missed it or even crashed into the ground. After a while Drew was getting bored.

"Thunderbolt!" That's exactly what Ash was waiting for.

"Aqua jet and spin!" With the usual spin move he dodged the thunderbolt and hit jolteon in return. "Razor shell!" He followed up with a flurry of slashes but it quickly recovered and continued to dodge. Although he did some damage Drew still had more points left.

"Pin missile!" he shouted. It shots spikes into the ground all around the stage. "Now discharge!"

"Protect!" It didn't hurt Dewott but it had a strange effect on the spikes. Yellow, sparkling strings seemed to connect them.

"Pin missile again!" During the attack, Dewott tripped over one of the strings, receiving a minor electric shock. The spikes that went near them took some of the electric energy and dealt additional damage. Although it wasn't too effective, all in all, it still decreased Ash's points even further. He had to do something and quickly. Only half a minute was left.

"Fly up high with aqua jet and use the ice extensions!" His pokémon did as he was told.

"Thunderbolt!" Whatever he planned, Drew didn't want it to happen.

"Spin and use ice beam on yourself!" He dodged the thunderbolt before freezing the water of the auqa jet, creating the ice aqua jet without the opponent's moves this time. Dewott headed straight for Jolteon.

"This is madness! Discharge!" This attack couldn't simply be evaded by a spin.

"Throw them!" The scalchops went through the ice and hit Jolteon as it was about to use discharge. It gave Dewott enough time to finish his attack. He crashed right into Jolteon, who got up again after a few seconds. "Now razor shell!" He grabbed his scalchops and used them as swords, slashing until his opponent fell to the ground again.

"Wow, an ice aqua jet just at the right time." May was really impressed.

"I knew you could do it. You'll win this, Ash!" Dawn mumbled.

"Damn it! Get out of there and use agility!" But it was too late. Jolteon was already unconscious, which made Ash the winner even though Drew had a lot more points not even ten seconds ago.

"And since Jolteon is unable to battle, Ash will advance to the semi finals!" Lilian shouted at the excited crowd. Dawn let out a squeal of joy while May just sighed. She couldn't make out whether it was of disappointment or relief.

"I lost?" Drew couldn't believe it. "What … is this a dream? It shouldn't be like that!" He recalled his pokémon and slowly went back to the others.

"Fantastic job, Dewott! You deserve a good rest!" He was incredibly proud of his pokémon. Despite all the troubles he managed to defeat a top coordinator. With a goofy smile he returned backstage.

"Well done, Ash," May told him before turning to Drew. "And as for you, mister. I told you this would happen. But did you listen? No!"

"I know. I'm sorry." She was surprised to say the least.

"You're sorry? That doesn't sound like you at all. Are you sure you aren't sick?" she asked curiously.

"Oh come on. Don't act like I can't learn from my mistakes. I underestimated him and paid the price. It's already hard enough like that. I don't need you to make it even worse." He looked really down now.

Ash looked at the scene. He felt a bit sorry for Drew. He probably had big plans and now he got defeated by someone who wasn't even a real coordinator. In addition to that, his best friend was scolding him. Ash didn't even notice that Dawn's battle was about to start until Zoey reminded him.

"I think you want to watch this," she told him.

"Oh, thank you." He wanted to help them but decided to give them some time, at least until the end of this battle.

Dawn and Nando were about to call out their pokémon.

"Magnezone! Spotlight!" Just as she told Ash, the electric and steel type was her choice for this battle.

"Kricketune, time to shine!" Dawn knew this pokémon. It was one of his most trusted companions. No doubt it would put up a good fight. "Start with bug buzz and silver wind!" Its wings glowed red and emitted red sound waves. Then it shot silver crescents, which turned pink when making contact with the red waves, at Magneozone.

"Magnet rise and super sonic!" It rose into the air, evading the first crescents that way, and followed up with super sonic, which destroyed the rest and stopped the red sound waves.

"Fury cutter!" Krikcetune's scythes grew bigger and glowed red. It quickly closed the distance and hit the steel type with its scythes growing even more after each hit.

"Gyro ball!" Magnezone spun rapidly, which deflected the blows from the bug type and pushed it back. "Shock wave!" Still spinning, it shot bolts in all directions, a few of them hit the target.

"Sing!" Kricketune rubbed its scythes against each other, creating a beautiful sound while golden music notes were coming out of its body. Now that was what Dawn was hoping for.

"Counter with metal sound!" Her pokémon's move completely drowned the song and destroyed the notes. The noise even caused it some pain.

"That's why she called it a good counter," Ash mumbled.

"Now flash cannon!" Instead of shooting it at Kricketune directly, Magnezone shot it at the water below, where part of the beam was reflected and hit the opponent from below. However, it turned out to be just a substitute. The real one was already behind Dawn's pokémon.

"Fury cutter!" It repeated the attacks it did before, only to be pushed back by gyro ball again.

"Flash cannon!" This time it shot beams of light in all directions, making it look like a disco ball. "Now move!" It moved with great towards the bug type, who dodged just in time.

"She really likes gyro ball, huh?" May asked.

"Well, it is effective. Similar to your blastoise's usage of rapid spin," Ash pointed out.

"True," she agreed.

"Swords dance! Then x-scissor!" Kricketune's scythes glowed brighter than ever and it attack Magnezone when it charged at it. Thanks to the power buff by swords dance it managed to stop the steel type and slashed at it several times.

"Hidden power!" The orbs circled the pokémon and hit Nando's pokémon like a saw when it came to close. That way, Magnezone pushed it back near the water surface. "Fire them and use magnet bomb!" Kricketune cleaved the orbs with its scythes and prepared to do the same to the magnet bombs but those were aimed at the water surface. It splashed up a lot of water, which dragged it into the pool. "Now thunder!"

"Protect! Then bug buzz and silver wind!" A powerful blast of electric energy hit the pool and nobody could see whether Kricketune was still conscious. It soon became clear, though, that it was as the pool glowed red from the inside. Soon it emitted red sound waves, which seemed to be even stronger than before. Pink crescents followed, hitting Magnezone, who was also hurt by the waves themselves. "Fury cutter!"

"Barrier!" It was hit a few times before it could finally create a transparent wall in front of it. Kricketune tried to break it but it was no use. "Flash cannon!" The silver beam of light went right through it, hitting the bug type during its attack. "Hidden power!" Nando's pokémon braced itself the same way it did after the first flash cannon. "Only one orb at this one! The rest behind you!" One of the orbs hit it, breaking another substitute and the rest surprised the real one, who tried to sneak up to Magnezone. Although it received a lot of damage it could still continue.

"It was good that she didn't fall for his trap again," May remarked.

"Yeah, she has a slight advantage now. Unless she somehow loses her concentration she will win this." He was sure of it.

"X-scissor while using bug buzz!" It somehow used it as a ranged attack, firing x-shaped energy blades at its opponent. As they absorbed some of the other move's power, they caused quite a bit of damage. In addition to that they emitted a unique sound, which made them even more appealing.

"Lock-on!" Magnezone's middle eye glowed red when a red dot appeared on Kricketune's chest, marking the target. "Zap cannon!" A slow but big ball of energy was fired at Nando's pokémon, following its every move.

"Use it against Magnezone!" As soon as it was far away, it charged right at the steel type with the ball following it.

"Careful! He wants it to hit Magnezone," Ash warned even though she couldn't hear him.

"Thunderbolt!" With one quick movement it dodged the attack and used Magnezone itself as a ramp to gain height. As the ball was pretty inert, it was about to hit Dawn's pokémon instead. "Gyro ball!" The spin deflected the ball and pushed it at Kricketune with increased speed. Although it managed to cleave it with x-scissor, it still received some damage.

Both Dawn and Nando looked at the display. It seemed like they had the same amount of points left but time was running out. So it was time for the final attack.

"Lock-on!" Dawn shouted. "Then barrier!"

"Swords dance and fury cutter!" Kricketune closed the distance and attempted to hit Magnezone but the barrier was already there. So it just hit it instead until it started to crack.

"Hidden power!" Several orbs were released but they couldn't get through the barrier either. They just pushed against it with their acceleration increasing over time. Nando saw what she tried to do.

"Get back!" His pokémon retreated to a position near the water surface.

"Screech!" A piercing sound not only destroyed the barrier but also deflected the orbs so that they flew in different directions with enormous speed.

"Protect!" A few of them hit the green shield, nearly breaking it but the rest flew past it. However, they turned and hit it from behind as the lock-on was still in effect. This also disrupted a potential counter attack.

"This is it! There's no way she'll lose now!" Ash shouted. "How much longer?"

"It ends in three, two, one." A signal was heard and, thanks to the final attack, Dawn had a few more points left.

"What an amazing battle! Sure enough, both of them would have deserved to advance but unfortunately only one can make it. And it's Dawn. Congratulations!" the MC shouted at a cheering audience.

"Amazing work, Magnezone. Take a rest." Dawn said,a bit shaky.

"Thank you, Kricketune. You did well." Nando turned to Dawn. "And thank you, too. I haven't had such an exciting battle for weeks. A clash of passion and beauty." Dawn was at a loss for words.

"That … was incredible," she stammered. "You and Kricketune were great. It's a shame you have to get knocked out after such a battle."

"On the contrary." He didn't seem sad at all. "I lost against a worthy opponent. I'd rather be defeated like this than win a boring battle. Only that way I get better and it gives me the motivation to continue."

"That makes sense. I think I learned a lot too." She saw that May and Zoey arrived. "Oh, the next battle is about to start. We should go back."

"Indeed," he replied.

So they went backstage where Ash and Drew were looking at the screens.

"There you are!" Ash exclaimed when he saw her. He would have given her a high five but it seemed inappropriate when Nando, who has just lost against her, was standing right next to them. "Took you quite some time. I guess you had a lot to discuss. It was an amazing battle. Well done, Dawn, and sorry about your loss, Nando."

"Don't be. It was a pleasure to battle someone as talented as our friend here," he said. Dawn blushed at his compliment.

"Oh, that reminds me. Congratulations on your victory, Ash. You did very well using your strengths to win," she told him. "Defeating Drew is no easy task."

"Neither is defeating Nando. But let's just watch May's and Zoey's battle for now. I want to know who I'm up against next." She nodded in agreement.

The coordinators have just called out their pokémon: Ampharos and Luxray.

"So Luxio evolved …" Dawn mumbled. "But what's with all the electric types in the quarter finals?"

"You should know. You used one yourself," Ash pointed out.

"That's true but there are still a lot." She continued to just watch the battle.

"Ampharos, use power gem and signal beam!" May commanded. An orange orb appeared in front of Ampharos, who shot it at its opponent using signal beam. This intensified its glow.

"Luxray, counter with crunch! Then roar!" It simply crushed the orb between its jaws, releasing a cloud of orange dust. A powerful roar followed, which blew the dust into Ampharos' face. "Fire fang!"

"Fire punch!" When Luxray's jaws met Ampharos` fist, a fiery explosion took place, pushing both of them back. "Thunderbolt!"

"Charge!" Not only did it gather energy but it also absorbed the thunderbolt. Then it released a powerful shockwave, which covered the whole stage and also hurt Ampharos. "Fire fang and roar!" Its teeth got surrounded by a fiery aura, creating a fire breath when it roared, burning Ampharos slightly. "Again!"

"Cotton guard!" A wall of cotton appeared in front of the light pokémon and got burned instead of the pokémon. "Now power gem and fire punch!" This time, Ampharos used its fist to move the power gem towards Luxray. It exploded right in front of it, creating a ring of fire that surrounded the electric type. "Signal beam!" It hit the flame, which turned green and closed in on Luxray, dealing quite a lot of damage.

"Alright, use ice fang and roar!" Now its breath was icy one. However, it didn't aim at Ampharos but at the ground, which got covered by a layer of ice. "Roar!" The force of the move caused May's pokémon to fall. When it tried to get up, it fell again due to the slippery ground.

"Enough! Use fire punch on the ground!" The pokémon obeyed and the ice quickly melted as a result.

"Use it again!" Once more Luxray used the ice breath combination but this time, Ampharos fist was frozen too. While it was trying to free its fist, Luxray bit its arm. "Thunder fang!" This attack shocked Ampharos but it also activated its static ability, paralyzing the gleam eyes pokémon.

"Fire punch again!" Her pokémon first pushed its opponent back and then melted the ice with its other fist. Luxray tried to use the same tactic again but the paralysis stopped it. Both pokémon had to recharge for a while before it could continue. The coordinators used the chance to have a look at the display. The points were nearly equal but Zoey had a few more at the moment. Since half of the time was left, though, nothing was certain yet.

"Alright, use wild charge!" Luxray got surrounded by an electric aura and charged at its opponent. Ampharos dodged it easily by stepping to the side, which caused Luxray to crash into the pool behind it. This caused a huge wave to emerge, which washed over Ampharos. Zoey's pokémon jumped out again. "Flash and double team!" A bright flash forced May's pokémon to shut its eyes for a moment. When it opened them again, it was surrounded by several copies of Luxray.

"Iron tail!" Upon contact the copies vanished with colourful explosions. The real one was charging at it from above. It used the flame breath combination and was sent flying by another iron tail but not without doing some damage. "Power gem!" The orange orb hit Luxray in midair and caused it to fall into the pool. Despite this successful attack, Zoey managed to strengthen her position so May had to do something. "Signal beam on the water!" It illuminated the whole pool. However, Luxray wasn't in there. A shaking ground told her where it was. It somehow used strength to move through the ground and now it was very close to the surface. When it was close enough, it used the flame breath again to shoot fire from below. However, it had to hurry as water was going up its tunnel so it broke through with one last strength move.

Merely one minute was left.

"Power gem! Then fire punch!" May shouted.

"Don't let it use the combination! Crunch!" It crushed the power gem before Ampharos had a chance to punch it so it punched Luxray instead. "Flame breath!"

"Signal beam!" Both attacks were evenly matched so May changed her plan. "Use signal beam on your fists!" It quickly got out of the way of the flame breath, doing as it was told. The fist got surrounded by a green fire as it also used fire punch.

"Giga impact!" Luxray overpowered Ampharos after some struggling, sending it flying into the pool. But now it was helpless when it got out again, ready to strike with the same combination.

It stopped when the signal indicated the end of the battle.

"Another intense battle! And the coordinator advancing to the semi finals is Zoey! Congratulations!" She had more points left although that could have changed completely if the battle had lasted a few seconds longer.

"Oh no. Well, thank you, Ampharos. You did your best," May said with disappointment clear in her voice.

"That was really close. Well done." Zoey also recalled her pokémon before going to May. "Good job but I told I would win this time."

"You did and you deserved it. Congratulations. I just hoped I would win the Wallace Cup this time," May told her. "Anyway, we should go to the others."

Zoey agreed so they did.

"Sorry about your loss," Drew said to May. She could hardly believe it.

"What? You aren't going to say something like: 'You criticize me but you can't do any better?' or 'I would have won this!'?" She looked at him curiously.

"No. You did your best and that's all that matters." She always knew he had this side but it was hard to bring it out. "Besides, even if you lost, you still are one of the best coordinators I have ever seen so don't worry."

"Thank you. Now my loss isn't so bad at all. I think I'll go and get something to eat. You're welcome to join me." She gave him a quick peck on the lips and left, blushing slightly while the others were just standing there, perplexed.

"Wow." Drew mumbled, tasting his own lips. This trip just got a lot more interesting. Even though he always thought that he would be the one to do something like this. "I better go with her. See you later!"

"They appear to like each other quite a lot," Nando remarked. "I nearly forgot. Congratulations, Zoey. It was wonderful to watch."

"Uhm, thank you." She was still a bit surprised by the scene that occurred. "Well, Ash. It seems like you're my next opponent. But unlike Drew, I won't take you for granted."

"And I won't make it easy for you. Just imagine: Ash versus Dawn in the final. That would be fun," he said.

"Ash, I have to beat either Ursula or Kyle before I get there." Dawn reminded him.

"I don't think either of them will knock you out. After your last battle, I doubt anyone will stop you here." She blushed at his compliment.

"Thank you. But it was exactly that thinking that made Drew lose. I should be careful." Zoey nodded.

"That's probably best." Then she turned to Nando. "I would still like to have a battle with you. Even though it's nothing official."

"it would be my pleasure. Shall we do it now?" he asked.

"Yes, our battles are tomorrow and we can still watch this one later on TV. See you guys later," she said to Ash and Dawn.

"Bye," they both replied.

They proceeded to watch the battle between Ursula and Kyle, which soon ended with her sharpedo knocking out his lumineon. So she won despite having a few points less.

"Somehow I knew this would happen. I was bound to meet her again," Dawn told Ash. He got a bit concerned. Never before has he heard her talk about someone with such a voice. Something must have happened between them and he was going to find out what. But for now, he wanted to prepare for the upcoming battles.

"Let's go to the training fields," he suggested. "We have a lot to do."

"Not so fast!" They turned around to see Iris and Cilan standing there. "Why does everyone seem to forget about us?" Iris complained. "We're coming with you. Oh, and congratulations to you both. I must admit you did a good job there."

"Thank you. Of course you can come with us," Ash told them.

And they did. For some reason they even joined their training. During a break Ash and Dawn snuck away to talk about their next steps.

"So, Ash, tell me. Which pokémon do you want to use?" she asked.

"Unfezant. That pelipper really impressed me. Unfezant may not be a water type but she should do just fine," he answered. "Of course I won't tell a potential opponent what pokémon I will use if I make it to the final," he added with a grin.

"Well, I never asked you about that." She stuck out her tongue.

"You didn't ask me just about the semi finals. Anyway, what about you?" She thought about it for a while.

"I don't think there's much choice. Bellossom will go up against her garchomp," she told him.

"How do you know she will use Garchomp?" he asked, surprised.

"I just know it. She wouldn't entrust any other single pokémon with the task of humiliating me. No, she will use Garchomp and I will be ready for it. And then I'll defeat her." Ash was shocked at the venom in her voice.

"Dawn, did something happen? It isn't like you to dislike anyone like that. Do you want to talk about it" She decided that he deserved to hear it.

"Ash. Only few people know what I'm about to tell you." He could see the sorrow in her eyes. "Do you … do you remember the time I was nearly raped?" He nodded.

_What does this have to do with Ursula?_ he wondered.

"Well, she eavesdropped on our conversation. And she used it against me in our battle. She provoked me and caused me to become too reckless. Said that I would have deserved it. Called me weak. You must understand! It was just …" He put a finger on her lips.

"You don't have to say any more. It was a cheap trick and you will win this time. At least now I can understand why you seem to be so mad at her." Although he seemed calm, he was actually furious inside.

_How can she use something horrible like that against Dawn? Does she have no dignity? I suddenly have the urge to punch her in the face. No matter. Dawn will pay her back. She absolutely deserves it. _He grabbed her shoulders.

"Let me tell you: You have every right to be angry. And I will help you in any way I can to defeat her. All you have to do is to ask," he said with a gloomy look.

"Thank you. But all you can do now is training with me. So let's do it! No need to worry!" She was smiling again but he wasn't convinced. There was something in her eyes. Nevertheless they returned to the others and completed their training.

May, Drew and Nando decided to stay for the rest of the Wallace Cup although they had nothing to gain from it.

Later that evening, they returned to their respective rooms. After his victory against Drew, Ash was confident that he could also defeat Zoey. He chose Palpitoad to be the pokémon for the final in case he made it. Dawn, on the other hand, returned to the training fields.

"Golbat, come on out!" The bat pokémon looked at her curiously. "I want you to fight in the final in case we make it there. Are you up for this task?"

Of course, he was. He has been looking forward to something like this for a long time now and the fact that she chose him for such an important task honored him tremendously. Actually, she has never seen him so happy. She was still very surprised, though, when he evolved shortly after the beginning of the first training battle. Now he was a lot faster and stronger than before. The results of the training were very encouraging. They increased her confidence that she will win the Wallace Cup. It would be decided tomorrow.


	29. Chapter 29

**Disclaimer: I don't own Pokémon or its characters.**

* * *

><p><span>Chapter 29: Stone, Stun and Poison<span>

"Welcome to the last day of the Wallace Cup!" Jillian from Johto was the final MC of the event. "We have three more battles to offer so enjoy them. The first one will be between Ash from Kanto and Zoey from Sinnoh. Ash has reached the quarter finals during the last Wallace Cup and now it's his chance to make it even to the final. Zoey is a real top coordinator as she won the last Sinnoh Grand Festival. Last time she got to the semi finals at the Wallace Cup. Will she win this time? Let's find out!"

"Unfezant, I choose you!" The flying type felt a little strange, participating in a contest but she wanted to do her best anyway.

"Gastrodon! Curtain!" Ash would have a major speed advantage but Gastrodon was tough. For some reason it didn't even bother to get into the water. "Use scald!"

"Dodge it and use aerial ace!" Unfezant easily dodged the stream and closed the distance quickly but Gastrodon was ready.

"Waterfall and hidden power!" A massive pillar of water emerged from its position, completely engulfing the pokémon. It released some orbs, which merged with the water, making it sparkle with electric energy. Unfezant immediately stopped when she saw what kind of shield it was. Then it suddenly fell over, crashing into one of the pools along with her. "Muddy water!" While she was struggling to get out again, a wave of brown water washed over her, making it even harder with mud in her wings. In the end she managed to do it, though.

"Oh dear. What a start for him," Dawn exclaimed. She was watching the battle backstage along with May, Drew and Nando. They noticed that she was a bit paler than usual and looked very tired but didn't mention it. Actually, she didn't sleep very well. Furthermore, she was very cold although the temperature was completely normal. Such things wouldn't stop her, though.

"What did you expect? It's Zoey, after all," May replied.

"A smart move. The hidden power type is electric and it can't hurt Gastrodon as it's also a ground type," Drew said.

"Yes, she's truly a skilled coordinator," Nando agreed. "This will be a hard task for him."

_Remember your strengths, Ash_, Dawn thought. _You can do this. You have won many battles more difficult than this one._

"Aerial ace again!" he commanded. It worked exactly the same way with Gastrodon building up its shield. "Now gust!" The strong wind caused the pillar to collapse, making the pokémon vulnerable to attacks. She followed up with aerial ace but she only got to it once before Zoey had another counter.

"Stone edge and hidden power!" This time, Gastrodon charged up the pointed rocks that surrounded it, making it look like an electric hedgehog. Unfezant couldn't attack in melee without getting hurt by the rocks.

"Gust!" Despite her best efforts, it had absolutely no effect on Gastrodon or the rocks so Ash tried something different instead. "Use air cutter!" Unfezant shot several energy blades at it but it just shot the rocks in all directions. Some of them destroyed the blades. "Dodge it!" However, even with Unzefant's speed, it was more than difficult. The rocks were numerous and as soon as she got too close to one of them, its electric charge shocked her without the rock actually touching her. This resulted in her losing orientation and a lot of hits.

"It's defenses are incredible," Drew remarked.

"Yeah, it will be hard for Ash," May agreed.

After the attack Unzefant fell into the water again. Gastrodon used muddy water again but she got out in time.

"Quick attack!" Ash shouted. He had to take risks now.

"Protect!" She only managed to hit a green shield.

"Use wing attack!" Her wings glowed white, ready to strike.

"Blizzard!" Finally, the speed advantage of Ash's pokémon paid off. She hit it before it could attack, not giving it a chance to resume it. "Waterfall!" Instead of being engulfed by the water, it rode the pillar. "Body slam!" It let itself fall to the ground. Fortunately, Unfezant flew away before it could smash into her.

"Do it!" Zoey didn't know the meaning of this command. Ash's pokémon simply dodged Gastrodon's attacks while her body started to glow brightly. Then she understood.

"Stone edge!" Like a phalanx, Gastrodon held the rocks in front of itself. The flying type crushed into it with sky attack, which resulted in a powerful explosion, pushing both of them away. "Recover!" Its body glowed in a golden light before most of its injuries disappeared.

"Roost!" As Unfezant has taken major damage he had to do this. Similar to the sea slug pokémon, she was ready to battle again. However, there was only one minute left and Zoey had a lot more points.

"He has to knock it out," Dawn shrieked before coughing. Her throat hurt quite a bit. "There is no other option now."

Zoey seemed to think the same.

"Stone edge and hidden power!" Once more, it created its shield. Unfezant couldn't get through it no matter how hard she tried. And with the rocks charged like that, another sky attack would be more likely to knock her out instead.

"Air cutter!" Of course, he wouldn't just give up.

"Fire them!" It shot the rocks at Unfezant.

"Quick attack!" Ash wanted her to quickly close the distance while Gastrodon was vulnerable. She failed, though, as the rocks were simply too powerful to just fly through them. Once again, she crashed into the pool below. One more muddy water move stopped her long enough from launching another attack.

"And our first finalist is Zoey! Congratulations!" Jillian shouted.

"Oh no …" Dawn hung her head low.

"I know you wanted him to win but you should also be happy for Zoey." May tried to comfort her.

"I am but it still hurts to see him like that," she replied.

Ash was really disappointed. He thought that he could do it but Zoey was too good for him. However, he quickly looked at the bright side: He made it to the semi finals, knocking out a top coordinator without even being a real coordinator. He definitely could be proud of himself and his pokémon.

"You did a good job, Unfezant. Rest now." Zoey was already approaching him.

"I must admit, I didn't think I'd have to use my phalanx combo but you proved me wrong. Well done even if you lost." This also made him feel a bit better again.

"Thank you. And congratulations to you! But I don't think Dawn will make it easy for you," he added.

"First she has to beat Ursula. Anyway, let's go back to the others," she said.

There he found a rather sad Dawn. Before she could say anything, he spoke up.

"Don't be so sad. I'm proud of what I've achieved and there's no shame in losing to Zoey. No need to worry right?" Her catchphrase made her smile again. "See? Now make sure you win this and I'm happy."

"Alright." Then she turned to Zoey, who was talking to May, Drew and Nando about her defensive moves. "Congratulations from me too. I hope we'll meet in the final."

"So do I. Now go out there and show Ursula what a real coordinator is made of!" she told Dawn before turning back to the others.

"Yeah, good luck!" Ash added.

"Okay, I'll see you later." She slowly went off to the stage. Her legs felt a bit weak but it wasn't bad enough to stop her.

A bit later, Iris and Cilan joined the others to talk a bit about Ash's loss, when Cilan got an idea.

"Ash, you want to cheer her on, don't you?" he asked. "And I don't mean from behind a screen."

"Well, I would like to but I don't have the tickets for that," Ash explained.

"You can have mine. I'm sure she'd rather have you there than me." And he handed two tickets, one for this match and one for the final to him.

"I can't possibly accept that! That's just too much!" he answered.

"Yes, you can! Remember, it's also for her. So get there and cheer your heart out!" Cilan encouraged him.

"I … Fine!" He finally accepted them. "I owe you something," he added, running off.

"Great, now I have to sit next to that kid for the rest of the Wallace Cup. But I thought you wanted to give them more time?" Iris remarked.

"There's nothing wrong with a little encouragement. Besides, it's certainly just as much fun to watch it from here." She just shook head.

"Humph. Do whatever you want." Then she ran off as well.

Meanwhile, the battle was about to start. The two coordinators were waiting for the announcement by Jillian when Dawn heard a familiar voice.

"Go, Dawn! You can do this!" She looked at the audience and saw Ash where Cilan used to sit. Although she didn't know why he offered his place to Ash, she was grateful. With him cheering her on, she couldn't lose. So she gave him a thumbs up and turned her attention back to Jillian, who spoke up now.

"Our next battle is between two young coordinators from Sinnoh," she announced. "Dawn is the winner of the last Wallace Cup and also placed second at the last Sinnoh Grand Festival. Ursula was among the top 16 of the same grand festival. So let's start!"

"Bellossom! Spotlight!" Ursula smirked.

"Garchomp, show time!" It was just as expected. "Have you already forgotten our last battle? An evolution won't help you!" Dawn simply ignored that.

"Use sunny day!" Bellossom raised her arms, preparing the weather effect.

"Ha! Use sandstorm!" She expected the sandstorm to cancel out the sunny day as her Garchomp started a bit later. However, the dragon type finished before Bellossom was done so the sandstorm got cancelled instead. "What? Impossible!"

"That's your move, isn't it?" Iris asked Ash. "Quite useful."

"Wait, my variation was to shorten the duration for a shorter preparation time. Not increase it. She must have done this by herself." Once again, he was impressed. Most people wouldn't have thought of doing that. Now she a full length sunny day. "Way to go!" he shouted.

"No matter. Use stone rush!" Garchomp created some pointed rocks, which got surrounded by a blue aura and fired them at Bellossom with incredible speed.

"Double team!" The dragon type hit only a copy. More of them appeared there. "Dragon claw and iron tail!" Garchomp's battling style looked like a dance with her using her claws and tail to destroy the copies with flawless precision. She didn't manage to hit the real one though due to the double team and her chlorophyll ability. "You want to play games, huh? Use dragon dance!"

"Stun spore!" Just as her claws and feet started to glow, a cloud of spores paralyzed her. Now Bellossom had a major speed advantage. "Magical leaf!" Most of the leaves were blocked but some of them hurt Garchomp's legs.

"Pathetic! Use dragon rush and dragon claw!" Ursula ordered.

"Flash!" A bright flash made Garchomp miss her target but she proceeded with dragon claw nonetheless. Bellossom just kept dodging the attacks with quick movements, double team and flash and countered with magical leaf occasionally. What enraged Ursula most was the fact, that she didn't look frightened at all. She even danced after every successful dodge. That way, she slowly decreased Ursula's points while Dawn's remained nearly the same.

"Dawn's playing a dangerous game," Drew pointed out. "Although it's incredibly difficult for a physical attacker like that to hit such a small pokémon due to the paralysis and the usage of chlorophyll, double team and flash, it's pretty much over as soon as it hits."

"She doesn't look so good. Look how pale she is," May pointed out.

"You're right," Zoey agreed. "I hope it isn't serious."

"That's all you got? Just dodging all the time?" Dawn's opponent yelled. "Use earthquake!" The grass type simply jumped over the shockwave but Garchomp was ready. He used dragon rush to close the distance and hit her as hard as she could. With a *poof* Bellossom disappeared. "A substitute?"

"Giga drain!" She actually was above the dragon type and shot two green energy beams from here hands, absorbing some energy. Garchomp crashed into the ground whereas she landed gracefully and started another dance.

"Well done! Keep going!" Ash shouted. The audience seemed to enjoy how such a small pokémon could give a powerful dragon type like Garchomp a hard time. But now the sunny day ended, which left Bellossom vulnerable.

"Sunny …" She cleared her throat. "Sunny day!" Dawn commanded. Ursula saw her chance.

"Dragon rush!" she shouted.

"Dig!" She quickly dug a hole and jumped into it before Garchomp could reach her.

"We got you now! Use earthquake!" Garchomp raised her right foot to stomp on the ground but Bellossom jumped out of her hole again.

"Leaf blade!" She grabbed two of her skirt's leaves and slashed at her opponent's heels. With a cry of pain, Garchomp fell to the ground and Bellossom gained some distance again. "Sunny day!"

"Get up and use dragon rush again!" However, she was simply too slow so another glowing orb appeared above the stage. Ursula wondered how Dawn has become so efficient all of sudden. Nevertheless she wouldn't allow her to hurt her precious Garchomp anymore.

"Dig!" If she couldn't see her, she wouldn't be able to dodge the attack.

"Ingrain!" Bellossom used roots to determine the position of Garchomp. As soon as she started to move towards the surface she jumped up high so that she wouldn't get hit. "Solar beam!" Upon getting to the surface, Garchomp got hit by a bright beam of light, which pushed her back into the ground and blinded her.

"Poor Garchomp," Iris mumbled. "But Dawn's doing pretty well."

"Unless Garchomp hits Bellossom big time, she'll win this. The funny thing is, she doesn't seem to do a lot of damage. But she uses the contest rules to the fullest. Bellossom isn't even a very fast pokémon. But her size and the right skill at the right time make up for it," he explained. "She's even using Ursula's own methods against her."

"What do you mean?" Iris asked curiously.

"Maybe she told you how Ursula tried to win her battles by provoking her opponents. And I don't mean the usual kind of provoking," he added with a grim look. "Anyway, it seems that by completely ignoring her and using that battling style, she's enraging Ursula instead. You saw how Garchomp's attacks have become much rougher. I don't think Dawn is doing this on purpose. I think she just tries not to get provoked herself. But it sure is working."

Both of them were too far away to see how much trouble Dawn was having. Not only were her legs getting weaker but she also felt rather dizzy so it was difficult to focus on the battle. The stress of battle was taking its toll.

"Can't you just fight fair and square? It isn't over yet!" Ursula yelled. It was time for her most powerful move. "Outrage!"

The crowd became silent as Garchomp's eyes started to glow red and a red aura surrounded her body. She let out a deafening roar before charging at Bellossom.

"Dig!" Because of the leg injuries, Garchomp was too slow to reach her in time so she disappeared in another hole.

"Use earthquake!" But instead of obeying, she just hit the ground where the grass type was a second ago with her claws repeatedly to follow her opponent. "Oh, right. Damn outrage." Bellossom stuck her head out of the ground behind Ursula's pokémon. She turned around, hitting the ground around this hole instead. To the audience's amusement, Bellossom continued to do this, making it look like a game of Whack a Diglett. After a while, the outrage effect ended, leaving the dragon type confused and Ursula with almost no points left. In addition, time was running out quickly.

"Leaf blade!" Dawn's pokémon reappeared behind Garchomp once more, walked up her tail and hit her back several times.

"Iron tail!" Ursula shouted desperately. The grass type quickly jumped off so that Garchomp hit her own head instead, sinking to her knees as a result. This reduced her master's points to zero.

"And since Ursula has no more points left, Dawn is our second finalist! Congratulations!" Jillian announced.

"Why, that little …. Poor Garchomp, you'll get your revenge soon enough," she mumbled before recalling her pokémon and storming off.

"Way to go, Dawn!" Ash shouted although she probably couldn't hear him as the other people were just as loud. But she did and it gave her a small smile before she sank to her knees, breathing heavily.

"We did it …" The battle cost a lot of strength. "It's over now. Thank you so much, Bellossom. You did incredibly well and showed her that you're no weakling," she said, recalling the grass type. "I better go back to the others." Her voice was pretty hoarse now.

It wasn't easy though, as she lost her balance several times. It was obvious that something was wrong. Still, she acted as normally as she could when she met the others again. Drew, May, Nando, Zoey and Cilan were the first to congratulate her as Ash and Iris had trouble getting through the other people.

"You really showed her," Drew said. "The look on her face when Garchomp hit itself was priceless."

"It's better to have you as an opponent than Ursula. Good job!" Zoey told her.

"Congratulations. But you don't look so good. Is something wrong?" Cilan asked.

_Great,_ she thought. _Someone has already noticed. I guess it was only a matter of time._

"It's nothing," she claimed. "Just feeling a little tired."

"Are you sure?" He wasn't convinced at all. "Red eyes, pale skin, hoarse voice. Doesn't look like nothing."

"I'm fine," she tried to reassure him. "No need to worry."

"That's when I worry the most." Ash was standing right behind her, looking at his friend with a worried face.

"Oh, Ash." She raised her arm for a high five but when he tried, she lost her balance and crashed into a wall. "No … need to worry."

"Dawn!" he exclaimed and touched her forehead. "It's hot. You can't participate like that!"

"No! I have to," she replied weakly. "I just have to relax a bit. It's … still two hours."

"Impossible! You have to stay in bed. You …" But Zoey interrupted him.

"Ash, you can't simply not participate in the final of a Wallace Cup," she explained. "Let her decide after a quick nap."

"Fine! But until then you won't do anything exhausting." Everyone, including Dawn, was surprised about him caring like that.

"Hey, I can walk by myself," she complained when he lifted her up.

"You can barely keep your balance. I'll carry you to my room and then you'll relax," he told her. "Bye, guys."

"I hope she can do it," Zoey mumbled. "There has never been a winner without a final battle and I sure don't want to be the first one."

"We better go with Ash," Iris said, dragging Cilan along. "Someone has to make sure the kid doesn't kill her off by accident."

But there was no need for that. Ash carried her to his bed and got her some hot milk. Before he knew it, she was already fast asleep. As there was no need for them, Iris and Cilan left again to meet up with the others soon, leaving Dawn in Ash's care. Only Pikachu and Piplup stayed with him but fell asleep soon. Dawn looked so beautiful to him, sleeping peacefully like that, even though she was still rather pale.

_I can't believe she still wants to compete, _he thought_. Or maybe I can. I would probably do the same. After all, she has trained so hard for this. Too hard. Training during the night, although it was anything but warm. I'm used to that kind of things but she isn't. She really has to be more careful or something bad might happen. I don't even want to think about it. But still, I can't blame her. I mean, she's just following her dreams. She just has to be a bit less reckless._

He chuckled.

_Such a thing coming from me. She's smiling despite everything. Maybe she's dreaming of winning the Wallace Cup? Or maybe the grand festival? Oh, I love that smile. It reminds me so much of our journey. Get better soon, Dawn. _He kissed her forehead._ Wait! I didn't just do that! I'm lucky nobody saw it. But what is the meaning of this? Do I like her more than as a friend? Well, I can certainly imagine living with her. But do I want that? Or, more importantly, do I want it now? No, it won't happen until at least after the league. I can't afford any more distractions right now. But then again, I did enter the Wallace Cup, the greatest distraction ever. And strangely enough, my pokémon seemed to have gotten much stronger despite all of it. So confusing. All my friends trying to get me together with someone doesn't help either. Actually, it's rather annoying. Can't they see it's my decision? So far it only brought trouble._

He looked at her a bit longer before making a decision.

_Alright ,I'll ask her out after the league. Then we'll see whether it works. I hope it does. _

He waited until it was fifteen minutes before the final. Ash had to decide whether to wake her up and let her make the decision or decide for her by letting her rest. It wasn't difficult to make up his mind as he just had to imagine how he would react if she did something like that. There was no way he would decide for her like that. He carefully woke her up.

"Hey, wake up. It's time." Her eyes opened and a panicked expression appeared on her face. "Huh? What's the matter?"

"My hair! I spent so much time in the morning. And now it's ruined, isn't it?" Ash just rolled his eyes. At least she was back to normal. Her voice also woke up the pokémon, who jumped on the bed and hugged her.

"You look fine," he tried to reassure her. "So you want to compete, after all?"

"Of course I do! You, of all the people, should be able to understand." She grabbed a mirror and hair brush and started to prepare her hair for the final battle.

"At least you look a lot better now." He felt her forehead. "It cooled down a bit but it's still hot."

"Relax, Ash. It's just one battle." When she was ready, she grabbed his shoulders and looked into his eyes. "I appreciate your worrying. I'm grateful for your help. But I can't simply let you and everyone else, who helped me, down by not competing now. This is also for you. If I win, I'll stay here to cheer for you. Besides, Crobat would be incredibly disappointed if he didn't get this chance."

"I … don't know what to say. You should prepare for the Hoenn Grand Festival instead. You …" But she interrupted him.

"It's not like your pokémon are the only ones who get stronger because of our training. So no need to worry. Let's talk about it later." He looked at the clock.

"Yes, there are only ten minutes left. Let's go," he said, grabbing her hand and dragging her to the contest hall.

There they met up with the others who were concerned about Dawn's well-being but could understand her decision. Ash asked her to call out Buneary as he needed her. Although she didn't know what for she left her pokémon with him.

Her legs were still a bit weak when she went to the stage but hopefully it would be enough for five minutes. She looked at Ash's seat to find him along with Pikachu, Piplup and Buneary dressed in their usual cheerleading clothes.

_How sweet of him_, she thought before turning her attention back to the stage.

"Ladies and Gentlemen! Welcome to the final battle. Let's find out which one of these two talented coordinators will be this year's Wallace Cup Champion!" Jillian announced.

"Gastrodon! Curtain!" Her friends were surprised that she used the same pokémon twice in a row. At least it wasn't a poison or steel type so Dawn could stick to her original plan.

"Crobat! Spotlight! Use double team and toxic!" Zoey expected this. If she managed to poison Gastrodon it would become a difficult battle.

"Protect!" All the copies shot a purple stream of liquid at the sea slug pokémon but the real one poisoned the pools instead. The water became dark and foul. Nobody could enter it without taking damage. "Hidden power!" The orbs destroyed the copies but they were way too slow for Crobat.

"Double team and toxic again!" This time, Zoey knew that it was just a distraction. The fake toxic attacks had no effect on her pokémon but she underestimated Crobat's speed. "Poison fang!" He was already behind Gastrodon, biting its neck.

"Waterfall and hidden power!" It created the same shield it used during the battle against Unfezant, pushing Crobat away.

"Toxic and air slash!" He shot the purple liquid straight at the pillar, which reacted the same way as the water in the pool. It resulted in Gastrodon getting poisoned badly. Then he shot two energy blades at it, causing the pillar to collapse on Zoey's pokémon.

"Well done!" Ash shouted. Dawn had more points right now but it was still a long battle.

She started to feel a little strange. It appeared the nap didn't have the effect she had hoped for. Her legs became weaker and her vision clouded. A normal battle wouldn't be that stressful but this wasn't a normal battle. Still, she was determined to finish it.

"Use air slash!" she shouted.

" Stone edge and hidden power!" The rocks blocked Crobat's attack before they got shot at him.

"Steel wing!" Instead of trying to dodge them, he destroyed them with his wings. Although he still took some damage due to the electric charges, he didn't show it. "Nasty plot!"

"Looks like we have to use our strongest combination. Hail!" Gastrodon was vulnerable while doing the weather move.

"Air slash!" After Crobat finished the nasty plot move, he shot two large energy blades at Zoey's pokémon, who simply endured them.

"Hidden power and ice beam!" A dozen orbs surrounded it, forming a circle. It shot the ice beam at them, which caused them to become connected by a light blue beam. Then it held the resulting ring in front of itself. "Hydro pump!"

"We won't …" A big cough stopped Dawn for a moment. "We won't let you! Use air slash again!"

"Hydro pump!" Before Crobat could do something a big stream of water went right through the center of the ring. The outer regions were frozen immediately while the rest was just cooled down considerably.

"Steel wing!" Dawn commanded quickly. Just before the stream hit him, he held his glowing wings in front of him. When the attack subsided, there was only a large chunk of ice. This lowered Dawn's points quite a bit.

"Recover!" Gastrodon used the break to regain some health. Soon the ice was smashed from within with Crobat standing there, wings spread proudly. Now they had nearly the same amount of points again. "Use the combination again!"

"Cancel it!" Crobat removed the weather effect quickly so that the hidden power orbs somehow could no longer absorb the ice beam. "Well done! Now steel wing spin!"

"Stone edge!" Crobat created a drill by holding his wings in front of him while spinning, which easily destroyed the rocks thrown at him before hitting Gastrodon itself. "Protect!" The green shield pushed him about but he has already done a lot of damage. Zoey's pokémon was breathing heavily. Unless it used recover soon, it was done for.

"Heat wave!" Crobat flapped his wings rapidly, sending a searing hot wind at Gastrodon.

"Scald!" The already hot water got vaporized upon contact. The steam clouded the bat pokémon's vision and gave Gastrodon enough time to use recover. When the steam was gone, it prepared its next attack. "Stone edge!"

"Use ahhh…" Dawn lost her balance and fell to the ground. Crobat looked at her worriedly only to be hit by the rocks. "I'm … fine," she said, slowly standing up again. Ash sensed that she was in trouble.

"Go, Dawn! You can do it. You can win this battle!" he shouted. This gave her new courage.

_Alright, I can't do this much longer_, she thought. _I have to end it quickly._

"Use nasty plot!" she commanded. Crobat's wings glowed white. "Aerial ace! Do it!"

"Counter with stone edge!" Gastrodon fired several rocks at him. One of them hit him but he didn't stop his attack. The rest were held in front of itself like spears. However, Crobat simply flew over them and landed on its back instead. Then he grabbed its neck with his wings.

"Giga drain!" A green aura surrounded the pokémon when he started to drain its energy. Additionally, toxic took away another part of its health so it was in real trouble.

"Protect!" The shield pushed him off but he just proceeded with his attack when it was gone again. Gastrodon shot the remaining rocks at it and created even more. Dawn's pokémon simply took the energy he lost from Gastrodon itself. "Waterfall!" A pillar of water engulfed both of them but instead of getting off, Crobat merely tightened his grip and continued draining its energy.

"Don't give up!" Dawn shouted, sinking to her knees again.

"Recover!" Zoey ordered desperately. However, the pain from the poison broke its concentration. A few second later, Gastrodon was finished and collapsed. Crobat, on the other hand, jumped off its back and flew to his trainer exhaustedly. Even though he absorbed a lot of energy, he also took quite a lot of damage.

"Gastrodon is down! I repeat: It is down. So Dawn is the winner of this year's Wallace Cup. Congratulations! Enjoy your well-deserved ribbon!" The crowd went wild.

"Well done!" Dawn said as he tackled her to the ground. "Thank you so much."

"Your only weakness brought you down. You still did a very good job. Rest now." Zoey quickly left the stage to make way for the ending ceremony.

Wallace saw just how sick Dawn was so he decided to do this quickly. He approached her along with Milotic before speaking up.

"It's rare for someone to win two Wallace Cups, let alone in a row. You have defeated some of the best coordinators this world has to offer. It is my honour to present you with the Aqua Ribbon." Similar to the last time, Milotic made it float to her.

"Thank you so much," she exclaimed when she finally had it in her hands.

"I hope everybody had as much fun as I had. We have seen many brilliant and strong coordinators. But it isn't over yet! You are all welcome to watch the ending ceremony." Professionals appeared along with their pokémon to make one final show.

Dawn, however, could barely stand now. With the help of Crobat she slowly made her way backstage.

"Dawn?" she heard Ash's voice but she couldn't see him. Quickly, her consciousness slipped away as she fell to the ground. "DAWN!" Everything went black.

* * *

><p><strong>The next event will be the Unova League. It should be shorter as less main characters are participating. <strong>


	30. Chapter 30

**Disclaimer: I don't own Pokémon or its characters.**

* * *

><p><span>Chapter 30: Final Preparations<span>

Ash and his friends were standing around Dawn's bed along with Wallace himself and a doctor.

"So she's going to be alright?" Ash asked the doctor.

"Yes, she just needs to rest for a while." He handed Ash some pills. "She has to take two of them every morning. Now that the poison is gone, the flu should be under control and she should recover soon. But how did she get poisoned in the first place?"

"Well, it could have happened while training with her crobat or maybe even her bellossom" The doctor nodded.

"It was definitely the toxic move's poison so that would explain it. Skin contact is enough for it to get into the body. Fortunately, it was only a small amount. "Ash wondered whether she trained in the dark and didn't notice the poison. "But as I've said, it's not all. Make sure she doesn't overwork herself like that again. No training for at least three days," he said before packing up his instruments and leaving the room.

Everyone waited in silence until Dawn started to stir. Slowly, her eyes opened and she noticed the people that had gathered in her room. As soon as she saw Wallace, she fainted right away.

"Dawn!" Ash shouted but calmed down again when it became clear that she was alright. Having seen someone like the Hoenn champion right after waking up was too much of a shock for her.

"Maybe I should wait outside until you told her that I'm here?" he suggested. "I think that's a good idea. Call me when she's ready."

Before anyone could object he was already gone. A bit later, she woke up again. After having a look at the crowded room she spoke up.

"Funny. I had a strange dream about waking up and Wallace himself was in my room," she said, her voice still hoarse. The others just chuckled. "What?"

"It wasn't a dream," May told her with a grin. "You fainted when you saw him earlier. But it's understandable. I had a similar reaction when he thanked me personally for participating."

"Well, I kept my cool," Drew remarked only to receive an elbow to the chest.

"Well, you're prepared now." Iris opened the door and there he was standing. She felt her consciousness slipping away again.

"Stop it! Don't let him wait even longer," Ash said, shaking her.

"It's alright. I … My hair! I must look horrible. And in front of Wallace himself no less!" She tried to get up but a piercing pain in her head stopped her.

"There's no need to do something about your hair. It looks fine," Wallace told her. Still, she was pretty nervous. "You're probably wondering what I'm doing here. Because of the circumstances I would like to congratulate you properly and thank you for competing in the Wallace Cup. By doing that you and your friends made it such a huge success."

"Success? So there will be contests in Unova?" she asked.

"I'm afraid it's not that simple. There are still many things to do before the first official contests will be held. Until then, you can call yourself the winner of the only Unova contest," he added with a wink.

"Wow, thank you. And sorry for my sickness during the last battle. That must have given a bad impression." Wallace shook his head.

"Some may call it stupidity to compete despite your situation. I call it dedication." This caused her to blush slightly.

"It's probably a bit of both," she mumbled.

"Anyway, has your feebas evolved yet?" he suddenly asked.

"Yes, she has. But how do you know about her?" The answer was pretty obvious.

"You asked Juan about how to treat her correctly and he's a good friend of mine. Of course he would tell me when the winner of the last Wallace Cup just shows up, defeats him and asks him about something like that," he pointed out. "It's also good to see that you heeded his advice and caught new pokémon. But I better go now. As you can probably imagine, I've still got a lot of work to do. You should stay in bed for a while. I hope I'll see all of you again someday."

"Well, we should go as well. We have a grand festival to prepare for," May said sadly. "So Ash, it was good to see you again. Dawn, congratulations on your ribbon but next time, it will be mine. Zoey, I'll be the one to win our next battle. Nando, Iris and Cilan, it was a pleasure to meet you guys. And I hope it won't be the last time. "

"You're being awfully hasty," Drew remarked.

"Of course I am! Our ship is leaving soon," she pointed out. He looked at his watch.

"You're right! Let's make this quick." So they said goodbye to each other.

Nobody was happy about parting ways, especially after such a long time but it was necessary. After all, some of them still had to win a ribbon so they had to hurry as Unova was very far away from the other regions. Dawn stopped Drew after May left the room.

"Can look for a bag under my bed? I'm afraid I'm too weak to get it." He nodded and took it. "That's my birthday present for May. So take good care of it. And if you want to live, don't tell her that it's filled with snacks." He peeked into the bag.

"A sleeping bag with food inside? Interesting. I'll make sure she gets it when the time has come." He waved the others goodbye and left.

"Why don't you go with them?" Dawn asked Ash, Iris and Cilan. "You can still say goodbye at the port."

"We can't just let you alone in your situation. Someone has to take of you and I'll do that." Iris cleared her throat. "I mean we'll do that."

"I can take care of myself. We should just go and train. You have to be prepared for the league. Let me just …" She tried to get up again but it was no use. The pain and weakness didn't allow it. "Alright, maybe I should stay here for a while. But you can take my pokémon with you. I'm sure they can help you."

"Are you serious? You …" But she didn't let him finish.

"Take these two." She handed him two pokéballs. "This one is Espeon's. She can help you teleport around the city. Besides, she needs a bit more training. I'm starting to think she's getting a bit fat. The other one's Zorua's. He should be great for simulating different opponents. You can even train openly with him, now that Zoey and Kenny are gone."

"Uhm, okay." He didn't really know what else to say. "Are you sure you don't need me?"

"Absolutely. Now go and train! You have a league to win." Ash pointed at the clock.

"It's 9 pm. A bit late for more training. But we should go anyway. You need some more sleep." He tried to leave but Dawn held his hand.

"In that case I want to talk a bit longer," she said, making the cutest puppy face she could muster. He couldn't say no to that.

"Okay, what do you want to talk about?" he asked.

"Well, you could start with the things that happened after I won the ribbon," she replied.

"Nothing much," Iris answered for Ash. "You collapsed, we brought you to the doctor, we brought you here, he gave us some medicine for you and here we are. The end."

"I'm sure she asked for a more … detailed description," Cilan remarked.

"But that's pretty much everything. The only thing she didn't mention was Wallace joining us shortly after we brought you here," Ash told her. "We talked about a lot of things like how he wants more trainers and coordinators to try out both gym battles and contest battles. And he gave me some good tips. After all, he's also Hoenn's champion."

"I see. I wish I could have talked to him a bit longer as well. Anything else?" Ash pondered for a moment.

"Oh yes, Johanna called while you were still sleeping. She didn't look very happy." Dawn could already guess what it was about.

"Ash, the doctor told us to let her rest so we should go now." Ash knew Cilan was right.

"He's right. We'll talk again tomorrow," he answered to her disappointment.

"Fine. Just let me sleep for now." She coughed heavily. "Good night."

"Good night!" her friends replied.

Ash had a lot of trouble falling asleep. This day's events were still fresh. The kiss, the victory and Dawn collapsing in front of him. He was so frightened at that moment. Fortunately, she's going to recover soon. Nevertheless, it was a shocking experience. One that kept him from sleeping for a while.

When Dawn woke up the next morning, Piplup, who was already awake, left the room and came back a few minutes later along with Ash. He was carrying a tray with things like hot milk and cereal.

"Have some nice breakfast," he said with a smile.

"You didn't have to do this! I can get breakfast myself, you know?" she exclaimed, a bit shocked.

"You have to rest." He gave her the tray along with Espeon's pokéball. "You need her more than I do. Just tell her to find me when you need something and I'll come right away."

"That's really sweet of you and all but won't this disrupt your training?" she asked worriedly.

"It's fine. My pokémon are already much stronger than I thought. It appears our training already paid off." He went to the door. "Now eat up so that you'll get better soon. And don't forget to take the pills next to the milk. See you soon."

He left to train but it just didn't feel the same. Although he had Iris and Cilan to help him, something was missing. Still, they made even more progress. He wasn't surprised at all that Espeon didn't appear as he knew that she didn't want to bother him.

At noon he surprised her yet again by bringing her a large amount of food so that they could have lunch together. It embarrassed her a bit that he insisted on feeding her but she enjoyed it. Her fever has gone down in the meantime but the coughing got worse. In addition she still felt very weak.

During the meal, Johanna called. Needless to say she was mad at her daughter and scolded her for being so reckless even though she was also proud of her victory. Her next victim was Ash as she thought that he should have stopped Dawn. She didn't calm down until they both promised to never do something like that again.

"I'm sorry you got scolded too," Dawn said after hanging up. "She worries a bit too much about me."

"It's understandable. She's your mother, after all," he replied.

The rest of the day went on like that. Iris and Cilan kept to themselves although Iris couldn't help but tease Ash about the whole deal from time to time. When Cilan went to the bathroom before it was time to sleep, she went a bit further.

"So, Ash, tell me. What did you do when you were alone with her?" she asked with slyness in her voice.

"What do you mean?" he asked innocently, remembering the moment he kissed Dawn on her forehead.

"Come on! Don't be such a little kid. I can see how close you are. And I saw what you did!" Ash gulped.

"I didn't know what I was doing," he tried to explain with a red face. "It just happened."

"What's so bad about feeding her? Except … there was something else, wasn't there? And it must be even more embarrassing to you." Ash slapped his forehead. She didn't mean the kiss. And now she knows that there was something like that. "Is our kid finally starting to grow up? When is your first date? When is the wedding?"

"Stop it!" he shouted. "Nothing like that happened. And it's certainly none of your business. Now I don't want to hear about it anymore."

Iris was surprised at his violent reaction. It seemed to be a big deal, at least a big deal to him. Maybe it was harmless to the rest of the world. Anyway, she would have to investigate this.

The next day was pretty much just like the former. Dawn's health improved quite a lot although her cough was still pretty bad. Ash, on the other hand, trained even harder and during the training Zorua nearly evolved. However, for some reason he chose to cancel it. Ash soon found out that he simply wanted to evolve when Dawn was there to see it. Iris got even more invasive with time, following him around all the time.

The next morning, Ash knocked on the door when he brought her breakfast as usual. When he received no answer, he entered and saw that she was still lying on the bed.

"Wake up, sleepyhead." He placed the tray on a table and went over to her.

As soon as he got close enough, she suddenly jumped up and pinned him to the bed, looking at him seductively. Slowly, she leaned in, getting closer and closer to his face. When he realized what she was about to do, he blushed furiously but he didn't resist. In fact, he closed his eyes and waited for it to happen. He was ready. It never did, though. Instead, he heard a snicker from Dawn, who jumped off him again.

"Uh, Dawn, what are you doing?" he asked a bit louder, now completely confused.

"Just brushing my hair." Dawn's voice came from the bathroom.

"Ah, okay. Wait a second." He looked a bit closer at the Dawn before him. She had fangs. "Well done, Zorua. You got me," he said with a sigh.

He canceled the illusion and went to the bathroom, snickering all the time. Soon Dawn got out and spotted Ash, whose face was still red.

"Are you alright?" she asked worriedly. "Did something happen?"

"What? No! It's just so hot in here." He tried to change the subject quickly. "Hey, you look a lot better today."

"I'm also feeling that way. The cough isn't gone yet but I think I'm ready to train with you again." But he shook his head.

"Let's not get overenthusiastic. But you can watch us if you want," he suggested.

"Aw, you can be such a meanie. It's a lot better than staying here all day, though." Then she remembered something. "We should call May. She should still be on the ship."

"I see you didn't need me to remind you. Let's do this." He grabbed the phone and called the number May gave them. "Happy birthday, May!" they both said when her face appeared on the screen.

"Thanks, guys. And thank you for the presents. They will help me to survive this voyage. You wouldn't believe how bad the food on this ship is," she told them with a disgusted face. "Are you feeling better again, Dawn?"

"Oh yes, I think I'm ready to train again but that guy next to me disagrees," she said with a grin.

"Hey, I don't want your mom to get mad at me again," he defended himself.

"I have to agree with Ash on this one. Better safe than sorry. So how is your training?" May asked.

"Very good. I think we're ready for the league but some extra training can't hurt." They heard a sneeze in the background.

"What was that?" Ash asked. May had a peculiar grin on her face.

"It just seems like Dawn gave Drew more than just a present if you know what I mean?" Dawn blushed.

"I'm sorry," she said but May waved it off.

"It isn't your fault. Besides, it's actually fun to have him like that. He needs me more than ever and it annoys the hell out of him. I really should give him his food now," she told them.

"I don't need you to give me food! I can do this myself!" They heard hoarse voice in the background.

"Sorry, he needs me right now. Good luck to you, Ash and get better soon, Dawn. Bye," she replied hastily.

"Bye, May!" They hung up.

"I better make sure I don't catch that," Ash mumbled.

"What did you say?" Dawn asked, not having listened.

"It's nothing. Follow me now. I have a surprise for you." He motioned at Zorua to follow him.

_You're lucky I don't ruin your surprise_, Ash thought.

"A surprise? I can't wait! Where is it?" She got really excited.

"Calm down. Just follow me," Ash replied.

So they went to the training fields. Iris and Cilan were already battling there when they arrived.

"About time you showed up," Iris shouted between the commands. "What took you so long? Have you done nasty things again?"

"No! We just called May," Ash answered while Dawn was looking at him questioningly. "Ignore her. She's just imagining things," he whispered. He waited for them to finish their battle before asking Cilan for a battle. "It won't take long. Ready, Zorua?" He received a nod.

"So be it. Crustle, go!" The pokémon prepared for battle.

"Use night daze!" He raised his front paws, which got surrounded by a red aura, while his eyes were glowing light blue. Then he slammed the paws into the ground to create a red force field, which expanded rapidly throughout the whole battle field. It hurt Crustle quite a lot but nobody was looking at it right now. Instead, they were watching Zorua, who glowed pure white. When he was done with the process, Zoroark was standing there proudly. Dawn immediately ran up to him.

"Wow, you look so powerful. Incredible! So this was the surprise you told me about?" she said, looking at Zoroark from all sides. "Wait, how did you know he would evolve?"

"Well, he could have done it earlier but he chose not to evolve until you were there to see it," Ash explained. "So he just needed a tiny push."

"I guess this means we won't finish our battle?" Cilan asked.

"I don't think there's any need to do that. Why don't we just use this day to relax instead of training?" Everyone looked at him incredulously.

"Who are you and what have you done to the real Ash?" Iris shouted.

"Seriously, my pokémon have been working hard and deserve a good rest," he explained. "Besides, it's the last in this city and …."

"Wait!" Dawn interrupted him. "What do you mean last day? Are we going to leave tomorrow? There are still a few more days left until the league begins."

"Exactly. A few more days. And we'll need those to get there. Or do you have a better idea?" To his surprise, she did.

"Sometimes I really wonder why you don't have a psychic type," she said, shaking her head. "Espeon can bring us there in a matter of seconds. We have traveled through Unova before we came here, after all."

"Fine. We'll take the teleport express." He raised his right fist. "But that won't stop us from having fun today. Let's go!"

It was indeed a fun day to say the least. Just walking through the city, eating ice cream, playing with their pokémon and other things they dearly missed. So it wasn't surprising that everybody was sad when the day was about to end. But they had to be well rested since the next days wouldn't be a cakewalk. With Espeon's help, they quickly got to their destination. Of course, the first thing Ash did was to register for the league. The rest of the time was mostly spent on training. On the day before the start of the league, he was having his final training battles.

He has already beaten Iris and Cilan and now Dawn was down to her last pokémon, Absol. Ash used Scrafty against the already exhausted dark type.

"Brick break!" he commanded.

"Sucker punch!" Although the attack hit Scrafty, it didn't do a lot of damage. The brick break, on the other hand, proved to be highly effective, finishing off Dawn's pokémon. "Thank you, Absol. You fought well."

"Well done, Scrafty. Take a rest," Ash said, recalling his pokémon.

"It seems like nothing can stop you now. Unless, of course, there's another trainer with powerful, legendary pokémon," she added with a grin.

"Don't mention it or it might come true," he replied jokingly.

"But seriously, you're better than ever before. You'll win this. I'm sure of it." Iris and Cilan approached them.

"She's right, Ash. I haven't seen you or your pokémon like that before. It won't be easy but you can do it," Cilan told him.

"Even I must admit that you have become a lot stronger," Iris agreed. "So just win this thing!"

"Thanks, guys. I appreciate that." He couldn't help but feel that they were right.

The league would begin the next day.

* * *

><p>Hastily, Bones went through the dark corridor. His destination was Rose's office as she had called for him. Although he didn't know why, he had a bad feeling. When he reached it he knocked on the door.<p>

"Bones? Is that you?" her voice came from inside. "Enter."

She was paler than usual, her hair was a mess and her eyes bloodshot. He had no doubt that she wouldn't last much longer like that. Although he already mentioned it before, she just continued like that so he didn't even bother this time.

"Yeah, so why do you want to see me?" Her videophone rang just after he said that.

"Just a second." The face of a captain appeared on the screen. "What is it?"

"Commander Hawk has stolen several pokémon from the Kanto Battle Frontier. Among them is an articuno. He requests to keep it for future raids." Rose shook her head.

"He can consider himself lucky that he can keep his head after his recent failures. Send all the pokémon to our main base in Kanto. The boss will decide what to do with them later." She ended the call and turned back to her fellow commander. "I called …" The videophone rang again. "What is it now?"

"I have the results from the Cresselia eggs." Now this caught her attention. "They will hatch in two months."

"Very good. We can use four more legendaries. Keep them under optimal conditions." She hung up again with a sigh. "As you can see I have a lot to do. It seems like I'm in charge of just about everything right now."

"I can…" Another call interrupted him. A scientist spoke to Rose.

"The devices work just as anticipated. They increased the pokémon's speed by 50% on average. The strength devices still don't work properly, though. The greatest effect so far has been an increase of 12%," he told her.

"Very good," she replied. "We can start to produce them in greater numbers now. I think I know what causes the malfunctions. Leave it to me and my team." She ended the call. "We have to talk about one the latest orders. Every pokémon has to receive a controller."

"What?" He stood up. "My pokémon are loyal to me! They don't need those things."

"It's not like you have to use them." She tried to calm him down. "It's just for … emergency cases."

"What could possibly justify the use on my pokémon?" he asked angrily.

"Pokémon, who don't feel pain, fear or doubt usually fight better. It could give you an edge in battle," she explained.

"I don't care." He wasn't convinced at all. "I don't want them in my pokémon. And I can hardly believe you would want that."

"I … I'm not enthusiastic about. But it's necessary. It's a direct order from the boss." He just shook his head.

"I don't like it. I don't like it at all. But –" He looked her in the eyes. "- I'm ready to do it as long as it's not one of those enhancing devices."

"Don't worry about that. Besides, as all the members have to do that it will take at least two weeks until it's your turn. That's pretty much everything. You should return to work now." Just as he was about to leave the room, there was another call.

"Commander, we have found Giovanni's hideout," the captain said with an excited voice.

"WHAT?" She yelled. "Send me the coordinates. I'll inform the boss immediately. Do not take actions until we call you. Understood?"

"Yes, Ma'am." The screen went blank again. Then she called one of her underlings.

"Make sure the assassin squads are ready for immediate departure. Don't ask questions!" He nodded so she ended this call as well. "We have you now," she mumbled.

Bones couldn't help but wonder whether this was a good thing. Sure, Giovanni's death would help them. But wouldn't someone even more ruthless take his place? There was no time to think about it, though. He had other things to do.

* * *

><p>Ash was standing among many trainers, including Trip, Bianca and Stephan, in the middle of the biggest stadium. Announcements were made but he didn't listen. Instead, he was just waiting for them to show his first opponent, the location and time of his next battle.<p>

It was very similar to the Sinnoh League. The first rounds consisted of three on three battles. Only eight trainers would get to have full six on six battles and naturally, everyone hoped to be among them.

Finally, his first opponent was determined. Although Ash didn't know him, he was sure that it wouldn't be easy as all the trainers here managed to get eight badges. His battle was the first one in one of the smaller stadiums so he had to get ready. It was time to show the world what he's made of.

* * *

><p><strong>Not much actually happened in this chapter.<strong>

**The prospect of Dawn appearing in B&W 2 created some mixed feelings. With every episode, my story will contradict the original more and more. But that's the way it works when you write something like that. Hopefully, she will stay longer than just a few episodes. There will probably be some moments between those two as the writers wouldn't want to annoy their large fanbase. Now it kind of motivates me to finish this faster.**


	31. Chapter 31

**Disclaimer: I don't own Pokémon or its characters.**

* * *

><p><span>Chapter 31: Two down, One to go<span>

Ash and his friends didn't waste any time. They went to the stadium, his battle was supposed to be in and talked about the upcoming match when the commentator announced it.

"Trainers Ash and Daniel! Your battle will start in ten minutes. Please get ready." Ash took the pokéballs of the pokémon he chose for this battle: Serperior, Unfezant and Krokorok.

"Good luck, Ash," Cilan said.

"I don't think you'll have any problems with this one. I've seen him. He doesn't look very experienced," Iris told him. "Good luck anyway,"

"You'll win this!" Dawn exclaimed with Pikachu on her shoulder as Ash was only allowed to take three Pokémon with him.

"No need to worry, right?" He laughed and went off.

The waiting was annoying but necessary. It gave him time to study the battle field, which was mostly rocky terrain. Finally, it was about to start.

"Welcome to our first battle in this stadium. The competing trainers are Ash and Daniel. All the battles in this stadium will be three on three with substitutes. So let's start!" the commentator announced.

"You heard the rules," the referee said. "Battle, begin!"

"Serperior, I chose you!" Ash chose the grass type as his first pokémon.

"Golett, go! Start with night shade!" It shot a black beam at Serperior.

"Dodge it and use vine whip!" She had no problem dodging the attack and countered with two vines.

"Iron defense! Then dynamic punch!" Her move didn't seem to do any damage. Now it moved towards her with a glowing fist.

"Grass knot!" Two blades of grass in front of it tied themselves into a knot, causing it to fall down. "Wrap!" Serperior quickly used this chance to tie it up with her body, making it impossible for Golett to use punching attacks.

"Night shade!" It shot another black beam at Serperior, who endured it.

"Energy ball!" She shot the ball right at its face. Then she tossed it away. "Vine whip!"

"Iron defense!" However, she didn't try to strike it. Instead, she wrapped the vines around its body and lifted it into the air. "Night shade!"

"Leaf storm!" The two attacks collided in midair but it became clear that the leaf storm was way stronger. And since Golett was being held by the vines, it couldn't dodge. The hit was extremely effective and when it fell down, it was already unconscious.

"Golett is unable to battle!" the referee announced.

"Well done, Ash!" Dawn shouted.

"Even without the type advantage he would have won this," Cilan remarked. "Let's see whether Daniel's other pokémon are stronger."

"Golett, return. Go, Bisharp!" This one looked already way more powerful. "Swords dance!"

"Vine whip!" Once more, Serperior tried to grab her opponent with her vines but Bisharp brutally cut them down with its glowing claws.

"X-scissor!" It charged straight at Ash's pokémon.

"Dodge it and use leaf tornado!" Due to her speed, she managed to dodge the first attacks easily but Bisharp just kept going, not letting her use a move. Soon it managed to hit her and followed up with even more attacks. "Energy ball!" She managed to fire it off, pushing the steel type back without doing a lot of damage. "Return!" Ash realized that she wasn't the right pokémon to battle this bisharp. "Good job. Now it's your turn, Krokorok!" Daniel gulped. He didn't seem to like this at all.

"Use metal claw!" he shouted.

"Earthquake!" A massive shockwave stopped Bisharp before it could get to its opponent. It didn't look tired, though, but just continued its attack. "Brick break!" When their claws met, it briefly looked like Bisharp was stronger. However, a few second later, the fighting type move completely overpowered it and sent if flying back. During this, Krokorok's right hand got hurt. "Earthquake again!"

"Iron defense!" As soon as it got up, it was pushed back even further by another shockwave. Although it didn't do very much damage due to its defensive move, Bisharp looked really exhausted now. "Hang in there! Use guillotine!" Two larger blades emerged from its arms. It launched a final attack.

"Counter with focus blast!" As soon as it was close enough, he shot a light blue orb at the steel type, which sent it flying again. This time, it didn't get up, though.

"Bisharp is unable to battle!" Daniel looked pretty desperate now.

"I wonder why he didn't change his pokémon," Dawn said. "It was obvious that it would lose against Krokorok."

"Maybe his last pokémon is even more at a disadvantage than Bisharp?" Iris guessed.

"You did your best. You're my last hope. Go, Gothorita!" That explained everything. As a dark type, Krokorok was unaffected by psychic moves. "Energy ball!"

"Close the distance and use crunch!" Due to his speed he had no trouble dodging the energy balls. His own attack was dodged as well, though. He tried to bite it several times but instead, he was hit by one of its energy balls. "Payback!" This time, he made a brutal hit, which almost knocked out the psychic type.

"Use energy ball again!" Gothorita, however, had a lot of trouble getting up again.

"Earthquake!" The shockwave hit it before it could react, knocking it out.

"Gothorita is unable to battle. The winner is Ash!" The audience and especially his friends cheered loudly.

"This was easier than expected," Dawn remarked.

"It won't always be like that. There are stronger trainers out there." She nodded. He would meet them soon enough.

"Don't feel bad, Gothorita. Take a rest." Daniel approached Ash. "It seems like I'm not ready to compete here. Good luck in your future battles."

"Don't give up," Ash tried to encourage him. "With enough training you will be strong enough. Thank you, Krokorok." He didn't even need Unfezanz in the end.

He met Dawn, iris and Cilan outside the stadium. They congratulated him but he waved it off, claiming that it was just the beginning. They proceeded to watch other battles together. As expected, Trip, Stephan and Bianca had no trouble defeating their opponents either.

There were a lot of move tutors at the league, offering to teach pokémon rare moves in exchange for some money. Since it wasn't very expensive, Dawn, Iris and Cilan used the opportunity but Ash didn't want his pokémon to get distracted so he declined.

After all the other battles, the next matches were determined. Ash was up against Bianca next. He wasn't really happy about it as he would have preferred to meet his rivals later, defeating them in six on six battles. There was nothing he could do about it, though. So he spent the rest of the day training with the pokémon he chose for this battle: Leavanny, Emboar and Unfezant, who, hopefully, would get her chance to fight this time. Knowing that Bianca had a powerful emboar herself, he concentrated on how to counter it by having Emboar use mostly fighting type moves. Dawn's typhlosion helped greatly with that.

Apart from that, nothing else happened that day. His friends knew how important it was to him so they tried their best not to distract him. He slept well that night, knowing that he could handle anything Bianca would use against him.

As usual, Dawn, Iris and Cilan wished him good luck before going to their places. The battle field was a grassy terrain this time so grass or bug types were recommended. When it was time to battle, Bianca wasn't there, though. Everyone waited impatiently until, after five minutes, she came running into the stadium.

"I'm so sorry. I got distracted by … that's not important right now. I'm just so sorry," she cried. "And now I'm babbling. You must be anxious for it to start. Alright, I'm ready."

"Okay, just make sure it won't happen again. Battle, begin!" the referee announced.

"Leavanny, I choose you!" He was more than ready for this.

"Escavalier! Go!" Ash had a type disadvantage right from the start. "Swords dance! Then twineedle!"

"Use swords dance as well. Counter with x-scissor!" The attacks collided and although they seemed to be evenly matched at first, Escavalier soon overpowered his opponent, leaving him no other choice but to dodge his attacks instead. Due to his speed, Leavanny managed to hit the steel type a few times but didn't do any serious damage. Bianca's pokémon, on the other hand, hurt the grass and bug type quite a lot when it hit.

"X-scissor!" Bainca commanded. But Ash knew that it couldn't go on like this.

"Return! Well done. Now it's your turn, Emboar!" Escavalier's weakness to fire made him a perfect choice. However, Bianca didn't allow that to happen.

"Well done, but return for now. Emboar, go!" Now it was Emboar versus Emboar.

"This will be interesting," Cilan mumbled.

"Ash's emboar is strong. There's no way he will lose. Go, Ash!" Dawn shouted.

"Bulk up!" Ash ordered. His pokémon's body became surrounded by a red aura after he flexed.

"Arm thrust!" He hit his opponent with his hands several times before he could counter.

"Use arm thrust!" Due to the bulk up, Ash's Emboar soon overpowered his opponent. Bianca tried a stronger attack to finish it quickly.

"Superpower!" Emboar's body got surrounded by a blue aura. He grabbed his opponent and smashed him into the ground. Ash's pokémon quickly got up, though and proceeded with his attack. "Again!" It happened same way but this time, it was weaker. Once again, Emboar got up.

"I can't believe he can still stand after that," Iris exclaimed. "But now Bianca's emboar should be a lot weaker."

"She's thinking the same," Dawn pointed out. "Look! She's trying to recall it. Do something, Emboar!"

"Hammer arm!" Ash, seeing the same, quickly commanded. As Emboar was really weak now, he took massive damage when his opponent slammed his right forearm onto him. "Finish it with flame charge!" This move knocked out Bianca's Emboar shortly before he could be recalled.

"No!" she cried. "Poor Emboar!"

"Emboar is unable to battle!" the referee shouted.

"You did your best. I was just too slow," she said sadly, recalling him. "Cinccino, it's your turn!"

"Well done, Emboar. It's up to you now, Unfezant! Start with air slash." She shot two energy blades at Cinccino, who dodged them easily.

"Use thunderbolt!" This attack was dodged as well.

"Aerial ace!" Ash shouted. Cinccino simply waited until she got closer.

"Tickle!" He jumped on the flying type's back and started to tickle her mercilessly, causing her to crash into the ground. "Sing!" As he was on top of her, she had no chance of getting away and fell asleep. "Now thunderbolt!" Several thunderbolts hit the sleeping pokémon.

"Come on, wake up!" Ash and Dawn mumbled at the same time. Finally, she did but she has already taken major damage. "Air slash!" Ash commanded. She turned around quickly, shooting the energy blades while moving at Cinccino, who was about to use thunderbolt again. They hurt him badly but he still managed to use the electric move and knocked out Ash's pokémon.

"Unfezant is unable to battle!" Ash recalled her quickly.

"Well done. Rest now. Leavanny, it's up to you again! Use leaf blade!" His forearms glowed green and he charged at the other pokémon.

"Stop it with thunder wave!" He shot beams of electric energy at Leavanny to paralyze him.

"Spin!" He did the trademark spin move, evading several beams that way until he was close enough.

"Giga impact!" Obviously, Bianca didn't want him to get any closer.

"Block it!" The grass type managed to block it just in time but he still received a lot of damage and got pushed back quite a lot. Still, he was ready to retaliate. "Leaf blade!" Bianca couldn't believe Leavanny was still standing. Now she could only watch her pokémon, who was completely helpless due to his use of giga impact getting hit several times. Unlike Ash's pokémon, he didn't get up again.

"Cinccino is unable to battle!" Bianca sighed.

"Good job, Cinccino. Escavalier, you're my last hope." She called out the steel type again.

"Thank you, Leavanny." Ash recalled him. "Emboar, I choose you! Use bulk up."

"Swords dance! Then twineedle!" As soon as the pokémon were ready, they charged at each other.

"Grab them!" Emboar grabbed the jousting-lances, preventing Escavalier to use them against him. "Flamthrower!"

"Iron head!" It tried to hit him with its head instead but the fire proved to be too powerful because of its weakness.

"Finish it with flame charge!" Emboar tossed it into the air and followed up with the move. He hit it midair, causing a large explosion. Escavalier was unconscious before it even hit the ground.

"Escavalier is unable to battle! Ash is victorious!" Ash was very relieved. This battle was harder than expected.

"You can be proud of yourself. Take a good rest," he said, recalling Emboar.

"I'm sorry I wasn't strong enough," Bianca apologized to her pokémon. Then she went to Ash. "You were too good for me today. But I'll train harder and beat you one day. But for now, I think I'll just watch the rest of your battles."

"Then you might want to join Iris, Cilan and Dawn," Ash suggested.

"Who is Dawn?" she asked curiously, already excited about meeting someone new.

"She's a very good friend from Sinnoh and a great coordinator. She should be waiting along with the others at the stadium entrance. Let's go meet them." Bianca agreed so they quickly left the stadium.

As expected, his friends were waiting for him at the entrance.

"Hey, Ash. Well done!" Dawn gave Ash a high five.

"You're the Dawn he was talking about?" Bianca sounded excited. "I saw you at the Wallace Cup."

"You watched the Wallace Cup?" Ash asked.

"Of course! Why wouldn't I? I also saw you competing. You did a good job. Are the others here as well? Can I see them?" Ash had to calm her down.

"I'm afraid they're already on their way back. Dawn just decided to stay so that she can watch the league," he explained.

"That's true," Dawn confirmed his story. "By the way, that was an awesome battle. You're really good."

"Oh, thank you." Bianca seemed to be a bit embarrassed. "But I wasn't good enough. Do you mind if I join you? I'd like to watch the rest of his battles."

"Of course we don't mind," Cilan answered for them.

"Uhm, guys? The next battles will be announced soon. I want to see that," Iris told them impatiently.

"Alright, let's go!" Ash shouted, dragging Dawn along with him.

"Such a kid," Iris mumbled, rolling her eyes before following them.

Only 16 trainers were left so a battle against Trip or Stephan became more and more likely. To his surprise those two were up against each other, though, while he got an unknown opponent. Sure enough, Trip versus Stephan was a battle he definitely didn't want to miss. It was the first of the eight last battles that day so they had to hurry to get a seat but in the end it was no problem. The two trainers were already waiting for the signal to start. It was the same rocky terrain as in Ash's first match.

"This battle is between the trainers Trip and Steven. The rules are the same as those during the former battles," the commentator finally announced.

"It's Stephan!" he yelled. "STEPHAN!" However, he quickly regained his composure so they could start.

"Battle, begin!" Both of them raised a pokéball.

"Excadrill, go!" Stephan shouted.

"Serperior, it's your turn! Start with leaf tornado!" He shot it right at the subterrene pokémon.

"Drill run!" It formed its body into a drill, launching itself at its opponent and simply ignoring the tornado. Serperior jumped out of the way before it could hit him.

"Vine whip!" He hit its head twice before it blocked further attacks with its arms.

"Rock slide!" Several rocks appeared above Serperior and threatened to crush him.

"Leaf blade!" His tail glowed green. He cleaved all of the rocks but it gave Excadrill enough time to prepare its next attack.

"Drill run again!" This time, he was a lot closer so dodging would be difficult.

"Leaf storm!" Although the drill run dealt a lot of damage, the leaf storm did the same so both pokémon were hurt badly before they smashed into the ground. Serperior was the first to get up again. "Use leaf storm again!" It nearly finished Excadrill.

"Isn't that weakening his pokémon a lot?" Dawn asked.

"Yes, but Serperior has equally strong physical attacks so he can afford that," Ash explained. He had to know since he had a serperior himself.

"Drill run!" Stephan commanded again.

"Grass knot!" Grass blades, which rose from the ground, tied around its arms, making it impossible to use drill run. "Leaf blade!" He quickly closed the distance and followed up with several slashes. As its arms were tied up, Stephan's pokémon could neither dodge nor block the attacks. In the end, the damage was too great, causing it to faint.

"Excadrill is unable to battle!" the referee announced.

"My excadrill would have won," Iris claimed.

"You fought bravely. Now it's your turn, Sawk." The pokémon, who was meditating inside his pokéball, slowly got up, getting into a fighting stance.

"Return for now. Go, Jellicent!" Trip was expecting Stephan to recall Sawk right away but, to his surprise, he didn't.

"Bulk up!" Sawk flexed, becoming surrounded by a blue aura.

"Hydro pump!" He quickly dodged this and the following attacks, using bulk up again in between. "Water spout!" Jellicent's body glowed blue when it prepared the attack without using it yet.

"Poison jab!" As soon as he was close enough, it shot a powerful blast of water at him. He simply jumped over it, now being directly in front of the ghost type.

"Stone edge!" As the attack was powered up by several bulk up, Jellicent fainted right away.

"Jellicent is unable to battle!" the referee shouted.

"What?" Trip couldn't believe it.

"That was incredible," Bianca exclaimed. "It's so strong."

"Return. It's up to you, Vanillish! Use ice beam on the ground!" It created a thin layer of ice, which made it harder for Sawk to move around.

"Karate chop!" However, he slipped and fell to the ground. Vanillish used ice beam again, freezing his left arm. He managed to free it by smashing the ice with his right fist, though. With time, he learnt how to properly move on the ice, dodging the attacks now easily. "Close combat!"

"Ice beam on the ground!" It created a wall of ice in front of it, which had to be destroyed before Sawk could get to the ice type. Upon breaking through, he was hit by a blizzard, which pushed him back.

"Close combat again!" Trip smirked. This was going to be easy.

"Ice beam!" Once more, it created a wall in front of itself.

"Now focus blast and stone edge!" The blue orb made a large hole in the wall before it hit the ice type. The rocks followed, hurting it even more. As if this wasn't enough, Sawk himself jumped though it and finally did the close combat move, knocking out Vanillish.

"Vanillish is unable to battle!" The crowd cheered. Stephan was on a good way to win this.

"Not bad. But my strongest pokémon isn't finished yet. Serperior, go! Use leaf tornado and sunny day!" Stephan, however, wanted to end this quickly.

"Close combat!" Serperior created a tornado of leaves to surround him. Sawk ignored it, though, trying to finish him with powerful attacks. The leaves hindered him just enough for the grass type to finish the sunny day in time.

"Vine whip!" Trip commanded quickly. The vines grabbed Sawk's feet, causing him to fall by pulling them away. "Synthesis!" While the fighting type was trying to get up, Serperior recovered some health. "Now energy ball!" It was enough to finish the already weakened pokémon.

"Sawk is unable to battle!" Stephan didn't like the way it was going.

"You were awesome, Sawk. I'm counting on you, Zebstrika!" Although it knew fire moves, its strongest attacks were ineffective. "Use flame charge!"

"Grass knot!" The flame aura burned the grass knots before they could make contact. Trip concluded that using vine whip or leaf attacks was also a bad idea. "Use energy ball!"

"Dodge it!" It was already too close to dodge but it continued the attack nonetheless and hit Serperior hard. "Stomp!"

"Wrap!" Serperior wrapped its body around its front legs. "You're too reckless. Solar beam!" Due to the sunny day, it was charged up quickly.

"Flame charge!" After taking a lot of damage from point blank range, it freed itself by creating the flame aura, which caused Serperior to back down a bit. Then it charged straight at him.

"Solar beam!" It hit the electric type head on but it still managed to hit Serperior.

The two pokémon looked at each other defiantly, breathing heavily until Zebstrika collapsed.

"Zebsrika is unable to battle. Therefore the winner is Trip!" The audience cheered. So far, it has been one of the most exciting battles.

"Well done," Trip said before recalling his pokémon.

"You did a good job." Stepahn turned to Trip. "You're very strong. I'd love to battle you again in the future. But I won't lose next time."

"We'll see about that. Anyway, it was a good battle." They shook hands.

"I wonder whether Stephan would have won if it had been a six on six battle," Ash mumbled while leaving the stadium.

He caught his rival just outside.

"I'm sorry about your loss. Seems like we won't battle here, after all. What are you going to do now?" he asked.

"I have to prepare my next journey. No need to stay here. But don't worry. I'm sure we'll meet again someday. See you!" Then he stormed off, leaving Ash behind.

"Is he always like that?" Dawn asked with a grin.

"Yes, he is," Iris answered. "But Ash, have you already forgotten about your own battle?" Dawn looked at her pokétch.

"She's right. Have you already decided which pokémon to use?" she asked.

"Of course! Pikachu, Dewott and Palpitoad should do just fine," he told them. "Now we better get going."

They quickly reached the right stadium. The battle field was a giant pool this time with two platforms for the pokémon at each end. His opponent was a bulky man called Zac.

"Battle, begin!" the referee announced.

"Dewott, I choose you!" Ash shouted, calling out the water type.

"Swoobat, go! Psyshock!" It shot a few purple orbs at Dewott.

"Get into the water!" He evaded all of them that way. But that was exactly what Zac wanted.

"Psychic!" It created a maelstrom, which caught Dewott. "Now hidden power!" A storm of orbs hit the maelstrom.

"Use ice razor shell!" He used ice beam to create the usual ice extensions and threw them at Swoobat right after. However, it didn't have any trouble dodging them. Even when they turned around, Zac just laughed.

"Too easy, dodge them!" While Swoobat was distracted by the scalchops, Dewott shot another ice beam at it, encasing it in a block of ice, which fell into the water. With Swoobat frozen, the maelstrom subsided. Dewott grabbed his scalchops again.

"Razor shell!" He smashed the ice block and proceeded to hit Swoobat.

"Psychic!" It didn't get a chance though, as the attacks were too powerful, especially underwater.

"Hydro pump!" The massive stream of water smashed it against one of the pool walls, knocking it out. A few seconds later it was drifting on the surface unconsciously.

"That was lousy," Zac mumbled, not loud enough for Ash to hear it. "Elektross, your turn!" It jumped into the water. "Discharge!" As Dewott was in the water, there was no way to dodge it. So he tried to endure it but it proved to be too powerful. The attack knocked him out.

"Dewott is unable to battle!" Ash got a bit nervous about Electorss' electric power.

"Well done, Dewott. Plapitoad, it's up to you now!" As a ground type, he wouldn't have any problems with the electric attacks. "Use scald!"

"Acid!" A small amount of it hurt Palpitoad but the rest was pushed back by the scald attack, hurting Elektross instead. "Try crunch!" Ash's pokémon waited for it to come closer before it shot another stream of hot water right at its face. "It's no use. Return! Go, Basculin! Start with auqa jet!"

"Counter with scald while spinning!" The counter shield hurt it a bit but it managed to attack nonetheless. Although Plapitoad interrupted a few attacks by using scald when it got closer, it made some clean hits as well. Ash knew that he would probably win this with time but he didn't want to take any more risks right now.

"Well done. Return for now." He recalled him as soon as he got close enough to the surface. "It's your turn, buddy!" he said to Pikachu. Zac tried to recall his pokémon as well but Ash was too fast. "Thunder!" The attack shocked everything inside the pool and proved to be too powerful for Basculin.

"Basculin is unable to battle!" the referee shouted.

"Damn it! Elektross, make him pay for that! Crunch!" It shot right at Pikachu.

"Counter with iron tail!" The attacks collided and the force caused the two pokémon to fall into the water.

"Pikachu, use discharge now!" Bianca yelled to Dawn's surprise.

"Ignore it. She does that from time to time," Cilan told her.

"Discharge!" Zac shouted.

"Thunder!" Both pokémon released large amounts of electric energy, which hurt them badly. Pikachu got out of the water, breathing heavily with Elektross soon following. It nearly hit him with crunch but he managed to dodge it in time. "Volt tackle and Iron tail!"

"Crunch! Full power!" Pikachu used his combination of Volt tackle and iron tail. When the attacks collided, the electric types were thrown into the water. But unlike Pikachu, Elektross was unconscious.

"Elektross is unable to battle! Victory goes to Ash!" His friends stood up, cheering loudly.

"He did it!" Dawn shouted, hugging Bianca.

"Looks like I have to get better pokémon," Zac mumbled, recalling Elektross before leaving the stadium without another word.

"A strange guy," Ash remarked. "Anyway, you were awesome, Pikachu. Let's go back to the others."

Ash met his friends outside again.

"Good job," Dawn told him. "Even though Bianca was a lot better than that guy."

"Oh, thank you," she replied bashfully.

"I agree with her. By the way, what are you going to do now, Ash?" Iris asked.

"Relax for the rest of the day. It has been very exhausting today so we need to recharge. Well, first I have to see who I'm up against next." So they waited for the rest of the battles to end so that the next matches could be determined.

Ash's next opponent was a girl called Mary. After a brief look at the pokémon she used he decided which ones would be the best to counter them. Then they had a lot of time to relax near a river. During that time, Ash noticed that Dawn was missing. He asked the others whether they have seen her but they haven't. He got quite worried until she was suddenly there again.

"Where have you been?" he asked, grabbing her shoulders. "I've been really worried."

"Oh sorry." She looked down at the ground. "I thought I told Bianca that I would be gone for about an hour. Maybe she didn't hear me."

"Or maybe she forgot or didn't listen at all," Ash guessed. "I wouldn't be surprised if she did. Anyway, where have you been?"

"I gathered some information on your next opponent," she told him proudly. "Don't expect any reckless moves from here. She has a very defensive battling style. Sometimes she's even overcautious. And she loves to use moves like spikes, stealth rock, toxic spikes. Oh, and she has a habit of blowing up her pokémon with explosion."

"Wow, but were supposed to relax. You don't have to do something like that for me." He didn't really know what to think right now.

"But I want to. If it helps you in any way, I will do it. Just ask me." He tried to reply but she was faster. "Now it's time to relax, you said it yourself. Tomorrow will be hard so you need the energy."

She dragged him back to the others. The rest of the day went by quickly. As expected, he went to sleep early. He needed it. After all, this day was just the beginning.

* * *

><p><strong>The real battles will take place in the next chapter.<strong>

**Looks like none of Dawn's Pokémon have evolved in B&W2 (Why am I not surprised by this?). Hopefully, she caught some Hoenn Pokémon (not really expecting this -.-) or at least catches some from Unova. I wonder whether she'll also enter the tournament.**


	32. Chapter 32

**Disclaimer: I don't own Pokémon or its characters.**

* * *

><p><span>Chapter 32: On the Way to the Top<span>

"Battle, begin!" the referee shouted.

It was the first six on six battle in this tournament. Ash was up against Mary, an experienced trainer from Unova. The look in her eyes told him that it wouldn't be easy. After all, she already managed to get this far.

"Garbodor, battle time!" she shouted.

"Gigalith, I choose you! Start with stealth rock!" He released several pointed rocks, which dug into the ground.

"Use toxic spikes!" Dozens of small, purple glowing spikes appeared before they fell to the ground, becoming invisible. "Again!"

"Earthquake!" The shockwave dealt a lot of damage but it didn't stop Garbodor from using toxic spikes again. "Once more!"

"Explosion!" Mary realized that it would faint if it got hit like that again so she wanted it to damage Gigalith as much as possible. However, due to his typing and strong defenses, he could still continue. "Thank you. Now it's your turn, Ferrothorn! Use spikes!" After taking a bit of damage from the stealth rock, it spun, releasing normal spikes, which also became invisible.

"Earthquake!" Ash didn't like using the same move over and over again but it was the best thing he could do. After all, Ferrothorn was resistant to rock type attacks. Ferrothorn was very tough, though, and didn't take much damage.

"Let's get started. Energy ball and power whip!" It used its vines to shoot the ball at Gigaltith before using them as well to attack him from the sides. Being hit from three sides at once, Gigalith immediately fainted.

"Gigaltih is unable to battle!" Ash stared at the scene incredulously

"That was fast," he exclaimed. "Alright, good job. Emboar, I choose you!" He not only got hurt by the spikes but also got poisoned badly due to the two layers of toxic spikes. "Flamethrower!"

"Protect!" The shield prevented the flames from hurting the grass and steel type but Emboar wouldn't stop. So when it ended, it got hit nonetheless. "Return!" Mary didn't want it to go up against a fire type any longer. "Samurott, it's up to you!" It also got hurt by the rocks.

"Use dig!" Emboar quickly dug a hole and jumped into it.

"Is he … is he going to do that move?" Dawn wondered.

"Flare blitz!" The whole battle field started to glow red. Flames shot out of the ground and both the spikes and rocks were destroyed by the fire. "Hammer arm!" As a water type, Samurott took only little damage from the fire but it was entirely different when Emboar appeared right behind it and slammed his arm into its back.

"Razor shell!" It grabbed his ashigatanas, which glowed blue now and slashed at the fire type. Emboar managed to hit it once more before he fell to its powerful attacks.

"Emboar is unable to battle!" Samurott was badly hurt, though.

"Thank you, Emboar. Take a good rest." He turned to Pikachu. "Your turn, buddy. "

"Use hydro pump!" Pikachu closed the distance while dodging the streams of water. When he got close enough, it charged at him, using its ashigatanas instead. Pikachu jumped below them.

"Use thunderbolt!" It caused a lot of damage but it was far from finished. One of its attacks hit, pushing Pikachu back. He used another thunderbolt, which nearly brought Samurott down. "Volt tackle!"

"Razor shell!" It tried to block the attack with its ashigatanas but Pikachu used the spin move to evade them and hit it right in the belly. Samurott struggled for a while only to collapse in the end.

"Samurott is unable to battle!" The crowd cheered. It has been a most entertaining battle so far.

"Well done. Ferrothorn, it's up to you again. Use spikes!" Once more, it covered the whole battle field with spikes.

"Electro ball!" Pikachu shot it at his opponent using iron tail. Due to the damage it took earlier, it was nearly finished. "Again!"

"Explosion!" Another large explosion covered the whole field, knocking out Pikachu easily. Ash ran to him and picked him up.

"Ferrothorn and Pikachu are unable to battle!" the referee announced.

"I wonder what would have happened if this had been a three on three battle," Dawn mumbled.

"They would have probably used different pokémon and strategies," Cilan guessed.

"She's strong. This won't be easy," Bianca said.

"You were awesome! Take a rest, Pikachu. Serperior, I choose you!" She took some damage from the spikes.

"Thank you, Ferrothorn. Go, Crustle! Use stealth rock!" Rocks dug into the ground again, this time, however, on Ash's side. "Close the distance and use protect when necessary!"

"Energy ball!" Crustle blocked most of them but also took some hits until it was close enough.

"Now shell smash and x-scissor!" It left its shell, a white orb hovering above it. Then it absorbed its power and charged at Serperior with white glowing pincers.

"Try attract. Then leaf storm!" Serperior knew exactly that Crustle was male. Otherwise she wouldn't have even tried. To Ash's relief, he stopped his attack. The following leaf storm caused a lot of damage since he wasn't protected by his shell any longer.

"Get back!" Myra shouted. When he had his shell back, she recalled him. "What a strong Serperior! This didn't go the way I wanted. Go, Cofagrigus! Start with mean look!" After its eyes glowed red, a purple aura briefly surrounded Serperior. She couldn't get away now. "Curse!"

"Use vine whip!" Both pokémon glowed red, taking a lot of damage, which caused Serperior to stop her attack. She would continue to take even more damage now until she fainted. However, Cofagrigus sacrificed a lot of health for that.

"Will-o-wisp!" She dodged the flames easily and countered with her vines, hitting it several times. "Disable!" A brief, blue flash made her unable to use that move again.

"Close the distance and use leaf blade!" The curse affected her again but she wasn't done yet.

"Shadow ball!" Serperior had some trouble dodging the shadow balls with one hitting her but she finally was in front of Cofagrigus. "Protect!" Myra underestimated Serperior's determination, though, who still had enough power to attack it relentlessly. As soon as the shield dissolved, she made a critical hit. The ghost type fell to the ground but had still enough energy for one move.

"Finish it!" Ash shouted.

"Destiny bond!" Upon fainting, Cofagrigus got surrounded by a purple aura, which formed into an orb. It hit Serperior, causing it to faint instantly.

"Cofagrigus and Serperior are unable to battle!" Ash was worried. Although one of her pokémon was already hurt, she had spikes and stealth rock on his side.

"Good job. It's up to you again, Crustle!" Ash expected a certain move from him.

"Thank you, Serperior. Dewott, I choose you!" Once more, his pokémon took damage from the rocks and spikes.

"Explosion!" she immediately commanded. This time, he was ready.

"Protect!" The green shield blocked most of the damage even though it shattered near the end. Still, he could continue.

"Crustle is unable to battle!" the referee shouted.

"Thank you. Scrafty, you're my last hope. Use brick break!" It charged straight at Dewott.

"Use razor shell!" Scrafty managed to disarm him, though, and kicked the scalchops away. "Hydro pump!" It did some damage but Scrafty stood its ground. Then it finished him with more brick break attacks.

"Dewott is unable to battle!" His friends gasped. They had no idea, who was his last pokémon.

"Awesome battle, Dewott. It's up to you now, Scrafty!" Even Myra was surprised. Just like Dewott, Ash's scrafty took some damage upon entering the battle.

"Drain punch!" The trainers commanded at the same time. Their fists met but none was stronger.

They kept doing this for a while. Neither of them managed to gain the upper hand but instead, they got tired due to the super-effective moves wearing them down.

"Hi jump kick!" Myra commanded as soon as she thought that it would knock out Ash's scrafty instantly. But it also gave him enough time to prepare a counter attack.

"Use the focus blast punch combo!" He first created a focus blast orb and followed up by punching it as hard as he could. With incredible speed, it hit Myra's scrafty in midair. It was smashed into the ground.

"This should do it," Iris remarked.

It got up one more time just to fall unconscious.

"Myra's scrafty is unable to battle. Therefore, the winner is Ash!" The audience stood up, cheering loudly for him.

"You did it! You're awesome, Ash! You too, Scrafty!" Dawn shouted loudly.

"Great job. Take a good rest now." Ash recalled Scrafty and went to Myra who seemed really disappointed. "You're an amazing trainer. I'm sure you'll make it far in the future."

"Thank you." She managed a weak smile. "I better go now. Good luck to you!"

Ash met the others outside.

"That was amazing!" Bianca spoke up. "I don't know whether I could have done this."

"Yeah, it was a great battle," Dawn agreed. "Now only two more to go."

"So what are going to do today?" Cilan asked. "Relax again? Or training?"

"I think I'll watch the rest of the battles first and then I'll decide," he replied.

And that was exactly what he did. He especially focused on Trip's battle. His opponent wasn't bad either, even though a bit reckless. His brutal offensive power caused a lot of trouble but in the end, Trip used it against him to win. Another trainer called Mick also caught Ash's eye. Unlike the others, he didn't only use pokémon from Unova. His strongest pokémon, though, was a volcarona with terrible power. Ash concluded that Mick might be even harder to defeat than Trip. He didn't have a lot of time to think about it as his next opponent was revealed to be Trip. Finally, it was time to show him what he was made of.

He decided against training as his pokémon were already tired enough. Instead, he just reflected on their past battles to get ideas on how to defeat his rival. Dawn seemed to think that talking about it was the best idea and in the end, she even made some suggestions. Although he was reluctant to admit it, he was also grateful for her help.

The rest of day was uneventful. Everybody was just waiting for the semi finals the next day. When it finally was about to start, they were pretty nervous.

"Remember your strengths and you'll win this!" Dawn told him. "You're the much more experienced trainer, after all."

"Yeah, right. Maybe he should act like it more often," Iris mumbled. "Get it over with. He won't stand against you!" she said a bit louder.

"Good luck. We're counting on you," Cilan added.

"Thanks." He took a deep breath. "See you after the battle."

They went to their respective places. Trip was already waiting at the other side of the field.

"I didn't think you'd make it this far. You can't be that bad, after all. Still, you don't stand a chance against me. Ready to lose?" he asked.

"I'm afraid you're the one who is going to lose," Ash replied. They didn't even listen to the commentator, only to the referee.

"Battle, begin!" They readied their pokéballs.

"Conkeldurr, go!" It roared, ready to battle.

"Emboar, I choose you! Use flamethrower!" The stream of fire was simply blocked by Conkeldurr's concrete pillars, which it held in front of itself like a shield. "Brick break!" Emboar closed the distance and tried to hit the pokémon. However, it didn't even try to retaliate, instead just waiting for him to tire out. After a few more attacks, Ash had enough. "Use dig!"

"Earthquake!" Trip commanded with a smirk. The damage was even greater as Emboar was underground. Still, he reappeared behind Conkeldurr.

"Flare blitz!" He hit it right in the back, sending it flying. "Now brick break again!" Conkeldurr was faster, though and quickly rebuilt its defenses. When Ash's pokémon tried to prepare a particularly powerful attack, it threw one of its concrete pillars right at it.

"Focus punch!" It stunned him long enough for Conkeldurr to make one, brutal hit, from which he fainted.

"Emboar is unable to battle!" The announcement came straight away.

"Oh no. It's strong. Go, Ash! Don't let him discourage you!" Dawn shouted.

"Sometimes she goes a bit too far," Iris whispered to Cilan. "I mean, he is strong but she seems to have too much confidence in his abilities."

"As long as it's helping him, it's alright," he replied.

"Thank you, Emboar. Palpitoad, it's your turn! Use super sonic!" It used its usual shield again but it didn't work properly, resulting in it getting confused.

"Shake it off! Use dynamic punch!" It held its head for a few seconds before throwing one of the pillars at Palpitoad, who dodged it just in time.

"Hydro pump!" There was a hole in its defense now so the stream of water pushed it back, separating it from its second pillar as well. "Use scald!" It not only caused a lot of damage but also inflicted the burn status.

"Use hammer arm!" It simply endured Plapitoad's following attacks and slammed its right forearm into him. He got pushed back but didn't take too much damage due to the burn and immediately retaliated with scald again. It was enough to knock out the fighting type.

"Conkeldurr is unable to battle!" the referee shouted.

"Not bad. But now it's your turn, Serperior!" Ash had no intention of letting Palpitoad fight a grass type.

"Good job, but return for now. Leavanny, I choose you! Start with swords dance!" His forearms glowed white.

"Aerial ace!" Ash was shocked. One hit from that move could mean the end.

"Dodge it!" He evaded the attack just in time. But Serperior just kept going so that he couldn't retaliate. "String shot!" The strings caused the grass type to fall down. He jumped on him, ready to strike with his arms.

"Wrap!" Serperior wrapped his body around Leavanny, tying up his arms and proceeded to attack him with headbutts.

"Use bug buzz!" Red waves emitted from the bug type, forcing Trip's pokémon to let go of him and get away. While doing that, he attacked the grass type several times with x-scissor, which was very powerful because of the swords dance.

"Leaf tornado and sunny day!" It immediately reminded Ash of Trip's battle against Stephan.

"Swords dance! Break through it and use x-scissor!" Leavanny ignored the leaves when he closed the distance. He managed to hit him a few times until the sunny day was ready. "Cancel it!" It disappeared just as quickly, leaving behind a serperior with much less health than he thought he would have after using synthesis.

"What kind of move is this? Use aerial ace!" From that distance, it was impossible to dodge it. However, Ash's pokémon still managed to hit him Serperior critically with both his arms. He crashed right into the bug type, causing them both to faint.

"Serperior and Leavanny are unable to battle!" Dawn stood up and clapped.

"He brought down Trip's strongest pokémon. The odds are in his favour!" she told the others.

"You were great. It's up to you again, Palpitoad!" He was wondering which pokémon Trip wanted to use next.

"Alright. Return, Serperior. Go, Beheeyem! Use light screen!" A yellow barrier briefly appeared before becoming invisible. "Return. Carracosta, go!"

"Alright, return for now, Palpitoad. Scrafty, I choose you! Use brick break!" He charged at the prototurtle pokémon.

"Surf!" It moved towards Scrafty on top of a large wave.

"Focus blast! Then protect!" The light blue orb shot it down although its damage was reduced by the light screen. Then he used protect so he didn't get hurt when the water crashed down on top of him. "Now brick break!"

"Aqua jet!" Carracosta got up slowly before it charged at him. The two attacks met in the middle of the battle field. On the one side, Scrafty was hit hard by the sheer force of Carracosta's attack. On the other, Trip's pokémon was pushed back by the super-effective move. In addition, the light screen shattered. "Use rollout!"

"Focus blast!" Scrafty was the first pokémon to get up again, hitting his opponent with another super-effective move.

"Return!" Trip had another idea. "Go, Beheeyem! Use miracle eye!" Its eyes glowed blue. Now it could use psychic moves on Scrafty.

"This isn't good," Cilan pointed out. "Without his immunity, Scrafty is actually weak to psychic moves."

"Yeah, but Beheeyem is still weak to dark type attacks," Dawn replied. "Go, Scrafty! Attack it with full power!"

"Use faint attack!" Trip just smirked.

"Stop it with psychic!" Scrafty stopped in midair before it was smashed into the ground. Ash tried it again several times with different attack but the result was always the same. Although Scrafty was really tough, it was close to fainting now.

"Grab a rock!" Ash commanded. "Now faint attack!" Once more, the psychic move stopped him. "Fling!" With great effort, he managed to throw it at its head, breaking its concentration. "Now it's time for payback!" He hit it with all the strength he could muster and dealt some major damage before it could counter with psychic again. This time, he didn't get up.

"Scrafty is unable to battle!" It wasn't enough in the end.

"Great job. Rest now. Go, buddy," he said to Pikachu. "Use thunderbolt while charging at it!"

"Psychic!" It redirected the thunderbolts at Pikachu, who proved too fast for them. When he got too close, Beheeyem used it on Pikachu himself, lifting him in the air. He used thunderbolt again, which disrupted the psychic attack, allowing him to hit it with a charged up iron tail.

"Beheeyem is unable to battle!" the referee announced when it didn't move.

"Return. Your turn, Druddigon!" His pokémon let out a deafening roar when it was called out.

"Oh, a dragon type!" Iris got pretty excited.

"Use dragon claw!" It became clear soon that it wasn't the fastest pokémon.

"Electro ball!" As Druddigon was resistant to electric moves, the damage was pretty low. Pikachu, on the other hand, had to be careful not to get hit. When he prepared another electro ball, the dragon grabbed him. While squeezing the electric type, he got paralyzed by the static ability. "Thunder!" Pikachu released as much energy as he could, causing it to loosen its grip. He used that chance to break free, hit it in the face with iron tail and retreat quickly.

"Earthquake!" However, he wasn't fast enough to escape the shock wave, which knocked him down. Another one finished him.

"Pikachu is unable to battle!" Dawn looked sadly at him.

"Poor Pikachu," she mumbled. "Don't let it discourage you! I believe in you!"

"Well done, buddy." Ash picked him up and put his pokémon next to himself. "Unfezant! It's up to you now!"

"Use rock slide!" Several large rocks appeared above the flying type.

"Dodge it and use aerial ace!" She evaded them with her great speed, dodging even more them when they kept coming. Every time the paralysis stopped Druddigon, she attacked it with aerial ace, slowly wearing down its health that way. As soon as Ash felt that it was close to fainting, he commanded a stronger move. "Sky attack!"

"Smack down!" It shot several golden orbs at her while she was charging up the attack but she dodged all of them. Finally, she was heading straight at its head. "Dragon claw!"

"Spin!" She spun just in time, dodging the dragon claw and hitting it in the stomach instead. It fell backwards, holding it in pain. "Air slash!" Ash ordered when it tried to stand up again. After that attack it was finished.

"Druddigon is unable to battle!" Trip silently recalled his pokémon.

"Carracosta, finish it with rock slide!" Unfezant dodged those rocks as well. Ash knew that the water type was nearly finished.

"Sky attack!" But Trip had a counter for that move.

"Use rollout!" As Unfezant didn't want to take it head on, she tried to attack it from behind. Before she could attack it, it suddenly jumped up. Since she was faster, she was about to overtake it when it fell down right on top of her. "Now finish it!"

"Use air slash!" Her wings were still free, so she shot as many energy blades at its face as she could. But its overwhelming strength was too much for her. It tossed her unconscious body to Ash.

"Unfezant is unable to battle!" Carracosta roared before it became silent and collapsed, having taken too much damage. "Carracosta is also unable to battle!"

"Wow, this intense. They're both down to their last pokémon!" Bianca exclaimed.

"He'll win this! He has to! Go, Palpitoad!" Dawn shouted.

"Chandelure, go!" At least, Ash had a type advantage.

"Palpitoad, it's all up to you now! Start with hydro pump!" Chandelure had no problem dodging it, though.

"Confuse ray and sunny day!" The ray caused Palpitoad to walk around aimlessly.

"Snap out of it and use hydro pump!" He heard it but didn't understand. When he saw Chandelure above him, he just shot at it without thinking. However, the sunny day was already set up.

"Flamethrower!" The two attacks were evenly matched. The rest of the water fell on his face, ending the confusion.

"Cancel it!" A cloud appeared briefly, canceling the sunny day before dissolving again.

"That move again!" Trip mumbled. "I guess I have to do without sunny day. Use shadow ball!"

"Scald!" The pokémon took no risks. They only shot when they could afford it. Soon the ghost type gained the upper hand, though, as it started fire off its shadow balls more quickly, not allowing any counter attack.

"Use the shadow barrage!" It formed about a dozen smaller shadow balls, which it used flamethrower on. Then it shot them at Palpitoad all at once. The fire made them look like meteors and when they hit, they released large amounts of black smoke.

"Hang in there!" Ash shouted desperately. This couldn't be the end. Just then, a stream of water shot out of the black cloud, hitting Chandelure. Although nobody could see Palpitoad because of the smoke, he could still see where Chandelure was due to her glowing, purple flames.

"You can win this! Go, Ash! Go!" Ash heard Dawn's voice behind him.

_I have to win because she believes in me. There's no way I'm going to disappoint her like that. But how? _

He watched as Chandelure used the barrage combination over and over, only without the smoke.

_Palpitoad is tough but he can't go on like this much longer. What could help me now? The spin move? No, he isn't fast enough for that. The weather move? Same problem._

His pokémon got hit by one of the shadow ball. Although he endured it, it was clear that the next hit would be the end.

_The counter-shield! But I have to defeat it with one move or he'll find a counter. I got it!_

"Use the counter shield! But not full power yet," he added, just loud enough for Palpitoad to hear it. He spun while using hydro pump so that the shadow balls were stopped from hitting him but didn't get deflected.

"It's already weak. Use a full power shadow ball!" While the smaller ones were still trying to get past the shield, it shot a large one at it.

"Now! Full power!" Trip's eyes widened. He knew what was about to happen. The shield expanded rapidly, pushing the shadow balls back. First his pokémon was hit by the smaller shadow balls. Then the big one smashed right into it along with some water from the counter shield. And finally, another hydro pump knocked it out.

"Get up! Use shadow ball!" Trip shouted at his falling pokémon but it was no use. It fell to the ground, not moving anymore.

"Chandelure is unable to battle. Victory goes to Ash!" Dawn stood up and hugged Bianca and her pokémon.

"He did it! I told you he would do it!" She said even more things but the others couldn't quite understand it. It appeared she was too excited to talk properly at that moment.

"Such a kid," Iris remarked.

"You were amazing, Palpitoad. You and all the others. Thank you so much. But you need a good rest now. You sure deserved it." He recalled him and went over to Trip, who was about to leave the stadium. "That was a great battle. I hope it won't be the last one."

"Of course it won't be. We'll meet again and then I'll defeat you. Make sure you keep it up. I have to admit, you do have some talent. And now win this. I would hate the thought of having lost against anyone but the winner. Good luck." Without another word he left. Ash knew that they would battle again. But now he had to think about the league.

Soon they met at the stadium entrance.

"You were incredible!" Dawn grabbed his shoulders. "Well done. Now you only have to win one more full battle. Just …"

"If you keep babbling like that, he won't even get to heal his pokémon for the final," Iris interrupted her. "By the way, congratulations on your win."

"Yes, good job. You really did it," Cilan added.

"I have to work much harder to reach that level. But I'll do it and then I'll challenge you again!" Bianca told him.

"I'm looking forward to it," Ash replied. "I should have my pokémon healed. And then let's watch the other match."

As a participant, Ash received top priority in the pokémon center so his pokémon got healed really quickly. Then they went back to the stadium to watch and get information on Ash's last opponent. As expected, Mick won the battle, even though he had more problems than expected. In the end, his volcarona had to defeat two pokémon to ensure his victory.

During the next few hours, his friends tried to encourage him end even though he thought it was distracting, he was glad to have friends like them. After wishing him luck in front of the stadium, they went to their places and he went to have the most important battle in his life so far. In one of the rooms inside the building, he called out all the pokémon he chose for this battle: Pikachu, Serperior, Dewott, Emboar, Gigalith and Krokorok.

"Alright, guys. You know how important this battle is. You know how much I want to win. Not only for ourselves but also for those who helped us and believe in us. Let's make sure all those hours of training don't go to waste. Let's just win that trophy!" All the pokémon cheered.

Ash smiled. They were ready. He recalled everyone except Pikachu again before he went to his place at the one end of the battle field. His opponent was already at the other end with a strange grin on his face, as if he wasn't taking this seriously.

"Welcome to the final battle! The competing trainers are Ash and Mick. But let's not waste any more time!" the commentator announced.

"Battle, begin!" the referee shouted.

"Gigalith, I choose you!" Ash hoped to set up stealth rock and then use him later against Volcarona again.

"Go! Rhyperior!" Two rock types were about to start the battle.


	33. Chapter 33

**Disclaimer: I don't own Pokémon or its characters.**

* * *

><p><span>Chapter 33: A new challenge<span>

The final battle has begun. It was Rhyperior versus Gigalith.

"Use sandstorm!" Mick commanded.

"Stealth rock!" While Rhyperior was creating the sandstorm, Gigalith shot pointed rocks into the ground around it. As soon as the sandstorm was ready, he canceled it quickly.

"Huh? What kind of move is that?" It appeared he didn't even watch Ash's battle against Trip. "No matter. Use drill run!"

"Well done. Return!" Ash recalled him before the attack could hit. "Serperior, I choose you! Start with energy ball!"

"Drill run!" Rhyperior simply ignored the energy ball, attacking Serperior directly. As she didn't expect it to be so reckless, she got hit hard. "Horn drill!" Its horn started to spin like a drill. Every time he tried to stab the grass type with it, she dodged it, shooting an energy ball at its face in the process. It didn't stop, though. A few attacks later, it was too tired to go on.

"Leaf storm!" The powerful move had a huge effect on the rock and ground type, knocking it out almost instantly.

"Rhyperior is unable to battle!" Ash sighed in relief. If it had hit Serperior even once, his pokémon would have gotten knocked out instead.

"Return," Mick said calmly. "That didn't go the way I wanted but it's alright. Go, Scolipede!" The stealth rock hurt it quite a bit.

"Good job. Return for now!" Ash didn't want her to battle a poison and bug type right now. "Emboar, it's your turn!"

"Use toxic!" It shot a purple stream of liquid right at Emboar.

"Dodge it and use flamethrower!" It wasn't difficult to dodge it but his attack was dodged as well.

"Steamroller!" Scolipede rolled up its body before it charges straight at the fire type, who stopped it with his bare hands.

"Flamethrower!" The damage was low as it was rolled up. Then it returned to its normal posture, using toxic again. Since he was too close to dodge, he got poisoned badly. "Flare blitz!" Scolipede used the claws on its neck to deal a large amount of damage while it was being hurt badly itself.

"Poison jab!" Its horns glowed purple before it hit him several times with them, dealing enough damage to activate his blaze ability after the poison hurt him as well.

"Flare blitz again!" This time, Mick's pokémon fainted immediately. However, Emboar has taken major damage despite the type advantage.

"Scolipede is unable to battle!" the referee shouted.

"He's extremely reckless," Iris remarked. "It was extremely tough but getting that close to Emboar with a bug type…" She shook her head. "It was bound to happen."

"I heard that it's part of his strategy. They're just supposed to weaken the opponent's pokémon enough so that Volcarona has no problem defeating them," Cilan explained.

"Yes, that pokémon is extremely strong," Dawn said. "But with Gigalith, Ash should be able to defeat it."

"Return! Swampert, time for battle!" Ash knew that Emboar had no chance of winning this even with the damage from stealth rock so he recalled him quickly.

"Return! You have done well. Serperior, it's up to you again! Start with energy ball!" Swampert, evaded it easily, though.

"Surf!" He charged right at Serperior on top of a large wave.

"Vine whip!" She tried to push it off but the vines got frozen by Swampert's ice beam. It used the move again to freeze part of the wave so that instead of water, ice crashed down on Serperior. When she regained her senses, Swampert was already standing in front of her.

"Blizzard!" The move was extremely strong, preventing her from retaliating by freezing parts of her body.

"Use leaf storm!" With all the strength she could muster, she sent one last storm of leaves at it, dealing massive damage that way. It wasn't enough, though, and she got finished by an ice punch.

"Serperior is unable to battle!" The referee shouted.

"You were great. Take a rest." It didn't go the way Ash wanted. He had expected to win due to the huge type advantage. But apparently, Swampert was really strong. And since it was also a ground type, there was only one pokémon who could battle it without a type disadvantage. "Dewott, I choose you! Use the ice extensions!" Ash hoped that Mick didn't know about that combination.

"Earthquake!" Dewott evaded it, using aqua jet before charging at it. "Hydro pump!"

"Use ice razor shell!" He threw his scalchops at it, disrupting the attack. "Now ice aqua jet!" Dewott spun while using ice beam and crashed right into Swampert. It was nearly finished but managed to use earthquake again, pushing Ash's pokémon back and dealing some damage. "Scald!" That was too much for it. The mud fish pokémon collapsed after a short struggle.

"Swampert is unable to battle!" The announcement came promptly.

"Go, Ash! Go! You can do it!" Dawn shouted while Piplup and Buneary were doing a little dance.

"Well done. Let's see whether you can handle Braviary! Use brave bird!" The flying type's body became surrounded by a blue aura after the stealth rock attack. He flew towards Dewott like a missile.

"Dodge it and use ice beam!" Ash's pokémon dodged it but Braviary proved to be too fast for the ice beam. When he charged at Dewott again, Ash had another plan. "Use ice beam on the ground!" He created a wall of ice to stop the powerful flying type. To Ash's surprise, Braviary didn't stop, though, but crushed through the ice instead, hitting the equally surprised Dewott. Although he got hurt by the ice and the recoil damage, it was nothing compared to the damage Dewott took.

"Sky drop!" Now he even grabbed Ash's pokémon, dropping him from great height. He was hurt badly but could still continue. Ash realized that he wouldn't win against Braviary like that.

"Use the ice aqua drill!" It was the same move as the ice aqua jet, but with Dewott holding his scalchops in front of himself to create a drill. Ash thought that Mick's pokémon wouldn't dare attacking him directly now. He was wrong. The valiant pokémon smashed right into the water type with brave bird, which resulted in a huge explosion. Both pokémon smashed into the ground but only Braviary got up again.

"Dewott is unable to battle!" Ash's friends were all shocked.

"Is he mad? Look at Braviary!" Dawn said. "He can barely stand. It's like he want his pokémon to get knocked out."

"Yeah, but he's tough. Most pokémon would have fainted from such a hit instantly," Cilan replied.

"Sorry, Dewott. I didn't expect him to do that. Rest now. You did well. Pikachu, finish him!" Pikachu ran towards the flying type.

"Roost!" He folded his wings, starting to regain some health.

"Thunder!" A powerful lightning interrupted the process, knocking out the exhausted pokémon.

"Braviary is unable to battle!" the referee announced.

"I thought you were stronger," Mick mumbled, recalling his pokémon. "Metagross, go!" It took only little damage from the stealth rock. Ash grinned. He had the perfect counter for that.

"Return, buddy. Krokorok, I choose you! Start with earthquake!" He sent a shockwave towards Metagross after stomping on the ground.

"Magnet rise!" It flew up high, evading the move that way. "Hammer arm!" It charged right at Krokorok, who stepped back just in time.

"Earthquake again!" This time, it didn't fly up in time, resulting in a super-effective hit.

"Bullet punch!" It hit him with an extremely quick punch but he just retaliated with another earthquake.

They went on like this for a while with no one gaining the upper hand until Mick had enough.

"This is getting annoying. Use explosion!" Krokorok wasn't prepared for that so he got knocked out almost instantly.

"Krokorok and Metagross are unable to battle!" Ash gasped. Mick was down to his last pokémon.

"He's definitely crazy," Dawn claimed. "It looks like he just blew up Metagross to battle with Volcarona."

"I hope Ash beats him," Iris mumbled.

"Go, Ash! Show him that concentrating on one pokémon isn't enough!" Dawn shouted.

"Well done, Krokorok. Pikachu, let's find out how strong his last pokémon really is!" Pikachu nodded and ran onto the battle field.

"Finally. Volcarona, show them true power!" It took massive damage from the stealth rock due to its double weakness. But Ash knew that it would be a difficult battle nonetheless. "Use hurricane!" A large whirlwind started to surround it. "Fiery dance!" It shot flames in all directions. They somehow connected with the whirlwind, creating a huge, burning shield around it.

"Thunderbolt!" The bolt didn't get far, though.

"Psychic!" Volcarona sent right back at Pikachu, who dodged it just in time. "Now bug buzz!" He couldn't dodge that attack, as the red sound waves covered the whole battle field.

"Volt tackle!" He charged at the fire type. Upon running through the fire shield, he received a lot of damage but could still continue.

"Psychic!" He suddenly stopped, unable to move. "Flamethrower!" The fire pushed him back, right through the shield again. That was already enough to knock him out."

"Pikachu is unable to battle!" the referee announced.

"Pikachu! Don't give up, Ash. It must have a weak point!" Dawn shouted as loudly as she could.

"Thank you, buddy. Alright! Gigalith, I choose you!" The rock type was pretty much his last hope. "Use stone edge!"

"Psychic!" He got hit by his own rocks. Ash knew that he had to get closer. But the fire shield was still strong. "Flamethrower!" While Ash was trying to figure out a way to get past it, Gigalith tried to dodge as well as he could. Then he noticed that Volcarona seemed to keep it up using psychic as it weakened briefly every time it used a move. As soon as it used flamethrower again, he gave the command.

"Get inside now!" Just as expected, he got through without taking a lot of damage. Only the flamethrower caused some trouble.

"Whirlwind!" It tried to push Gigalith back, however, it was simply too heavy and even got closer instead. "Psychic!" Not even that way did it accomplish its goal.

"Stone edge!" Since it was busy trying to push him away with psychic, the rocks hit it pretty hard. Despite its best efforts it couldn't hold him at bay and stop his attack at the same time. Once he got too close, the shield started to shrink. Ash knew that it tried to surround Gigalith with it. If it managed to do that, it would be his end. "Stone edge!"

"Protect!" This gave him some time. The next time, it redirected the rocks with psychic. They repeated this twice but now it was already really close.

"Stone edge!" Volcarona was ready to deflect the rocks with psychic but Gigalith hesitated. "What's wrong?" Ash asked. His eyes widened, when the rock type suddenly glowed white before exploding right in front of Volcarona, who couldn't stop that move with psychic. When the smoke cleared both pokémon were unconscious.

"Volcarona and Gigalith are unable to battle!" Ash knew what was about to come since he still had Emboar left. "Therefore the winner and new Unova League Champion is Ash!"

The crowd erupted in cheers, the loudest of them being his friends. To his surprise, Mick just laughed.

"Well done. Really well done. I haven't had this much fun for a long time. Congratulations. I leave you to your trophy now," he said and walked off after recalling his strongest pokémon.

_A really odd guy_, Ash thought, not having fully realized what just happened.

"He did it! I told you he would do it!" Dawn shrieked, going completely berserk. "Oh, he's so incredible!"

"Gigaltih saved him. If Ash had told him to use explosion, Volcarona would have used protect. But since it was expecting a stone edge, it didn't have time for that," Cilan pointed out.

"Thank you … thank you, Gigalith. You were … awesome," Ash stammered.

Soon Alder, Mr. Goodshow and other officials approached him. The president of the pokémon league took a microphone and spoke up.

"Ladies and Gentlemen! We have seen a lot of battles and trainers during the last few days. But only one of them emerged victorious. Through determination and hard work, he managed to defeat all of his opponents. I present you the newest Unova League Champion: Ash!" He waited for the cheers to die down again. "I'm proud to award you the Unova League Trophy!" He handed it to Ash, who raised it proudly into the air before putting it next to him and waving to the audience. He only looked at his friends, especially Dawn, though. Now he could finally make a move.

_I just wish Pikachu and the others could see this. I have to get them to the pokémon center soon_, he thought. _Anyway, I finally made it! After so many failed tries I did it. I hope this isn't a dream. But even if it is, I'll just enjoy it for now. Wow, dawn sure looks happy. She even sacrificed her preparation for the grand festival to support me. I'll ask her today. No more excuses. I'll also have to get something for the others. They did a great job as well._

"Congratulations, boy!" Mr. Goodshow said after putting away the microphone. "I knew you had it in you."

"Yeah, well done," Alder agreed. "But it is just the beginning. I hope you're ready for your next challenge."

"What next challenge?" Ash asked surprised.

"Have you already forgotten? You have the right to challenge the Unova Elite Four officially now," the champion told him.

"Oh, yes. I want to start as soon as possible. I can't wait to have full battles against them." Alder nodded.

"That's the spirit! In that case, your battle against Shauntal will be in exactly three weeks. Once you agree there's no going back," he warned Ash.

"That's fine with me. I'm ready for anyone right now!" Ash told him.

"Alright, leave the preparations to me. You'll receive more information on it soon." He turned to walk away. "I hope we'll meet in battle. I haven't had a good challenger for a while."

"Count on it!" He picked up his trophy again and made room for the ending ceremony.

In front of the entrance he met his friends.

"That was incredible. I have to work much, much harder to keep up with you," Bianca exclaimed. "Congratulations!"

"From me as well," Iris spoke up. "But you're still a kid. Just a successful kid."

"Great job, Ash. But I think there's someone who wants to congratulate you her own way," he added.

Just when he wondered what it was about, he felt a kiss on his cheek. Upon turning around, he saw Dawn, who was blushing madly. And he felt that his face wasn't much different.

"That was for everything you did. Teaching me the basics, helping me out whenever I needed it, taking care of me while I was sick and entering the Wallace Cup although it distracted you. But most of all, congratulations on your win! You can be proud of yourself." Just when he was finally ready to reply, she looked behind. "I think there are some people who want to talk to you." He couldn't help but notice that she also looked a bit sad. Was there something else he didn't know about?

However, he had no time to think about as he was swarmed by journalists who wanted to have an interview. It took him one hour to get away from them. As his friends were probably in the pokémon center by now, he also went there, trying to not get caught by any more journalists. It wasn't over, though, when he reached it. He got a lot of calls from all of his friends and his family. Naturally, he was glad to be able to talk to them again but it was getting a little too much for him right now. He quickly had his pokémon healed and went to his room after the last call ended. There he carefully put the trophy on the ground next to his bed and jumped on it, completely exhausted. When he looked around, he noticed that Dawn wasn't there.

"Hey, where's Dawn?" he asked Iris and Cilan who seemed to be tired as well.

"I think she's gone shopping. Just try the different shops," Iris answered.

"Thanks, I have to talk to her," he said, leaving the room again.

"Do you think he listened to her when she told him about her plans?" Cilan asked.

"No, I don't. The kid was too preoccupied with his battles," she replied.

"I hope he won't be too sad about it." Cilan had a gloomy look on his face.

Ash actually ran to the shops as he wanted to talk to her as soon as possible. He found her in the third shop, where was looking at different kinds of pokémon food.

"What are you doing here?" she asked first.

"I could ask you the same thing?" She just sighed.

"I asked you first. So tell me. What are you doing here?" Ash realized the time has come.

"Well, you know … since the league is over now …," he stammered. "Do you … do you maybe want to … go out with me tomorrow … or any day you like?" This was way more difficult than any pokémon battle. Especially when he saw the disappointed look on her face.

_That's it. She's going to reject me now_, he thought.

"Ash, I won't be here tomorrow." It took him completely by surprise. "I told you a few times but I guess the league was too important. The ship is going to leave tomorrow morning." She had tears in her eyes. "I'm so sorry. But … if you really want and need my support, I could stay here and enter the grand festival next year. It isn't …"

"No!" he interrupted her, grabbing her shoulders. "You can't do that. I would never forgive myself I was the one responsible for you not winning it. You have to follow your dreams. Don't let my own dreams stop you."

"I see." There was a bit of hope in her eyes now. "I'd love to go out with you after the grand festival, though. That is, if you're still interested."

"Are you kidding?" Ash could barely contain his joy. "Of course I am. In fact, why don't we do something right now? It's our last day here, after all."

"Sure!" She let out a squeal. "Let's talk about it outside." She took Piplup in her arms and left the shop, jumping with joy. He followed soon after.

At the entrance, they decided to get something to eat at first. Ash found a nice place to eat and even though it was nothing fancy, the food was well worth its price. But Dawn didn't really care about the food at that moment.

_Incredible! I'm on a date with Ash. Ash! _She had to keep herself from grinning like an idiot all the time._ And he even asked me out. I didn't think he would ever do that. It's so sad I have to leave tomorrow but we'll see each other again. And then it'll be even more fun. _

Ash had similar thoughts.

_Incredible! She said yes! _he thought. _I hope she doesn't mind that this place isn't that great for things like this. I have to make up for it later by taking her out to a perfect place. But why am I thinking about things like that right now? It already went way better than I would have ever imagined. Well, except for the fact that she's going to leave tomorrow. But we'll see each other again. That's for sure._

They ate in silence for most of the time, simply enjoying each others' presence. They did, however decide to have one last practice battle. Others probably thought that it wasn't very romantic but it was one of their favourite things to do.

When they arrived at the training fields, they began immediately. The battle itself wasn't very serious. It involved a lot of testing and improvised moves like Buneary's hug attack on Pikachu. They still had a lot of fun. Dawn couldn't remember when she was so happy the last time. It even had an effect on her pokémon. Finally, when she called out Riolu, he sensed her happiness. After only a short amount of time, he suddenly glowed white and when it was over, Lucario was standing there.

"Incredible! How strong you look!" she said, admiring him. "I wonder why he evolved all of sudden."

"That's probably because he sensed your happiness and it had an effect on him. Or he just felt happy for you. Anyway, it has something to do with the bond between trainer and pokémon," he explained.

"I didn't know you could be so deep. But that's probably just because it's about pokémon," she teased.

"You know me," he replied, grinning. "Anyway, we should stop now. Is there anything else you'd like to do?"

"We could go for a walk. Because of all the battles, I hardly know the surroundings," she told him.

"You're right. Maybe we can even find new pokémon! Hey, I'm just kidding," he said when she gave him an incredulous look. "Even I know this isn't the right moment for that. Let's go."

"Right. Lucario, you were awesome. You deserved a good rest." She recalled him.

Together they explored the surroundings. Ash had some trouble keeping himself from trying to catch some of the pokémon he saw. But he just had to look at Dawn to regain his control. After all, he didn't want to disappoint her, especially now. Soon they found a nice spot to rest. It was a hill near a lake full of Swanna and Ducklett.

It was a perfect moment for them when they just sat there, looking into each others' eyes while the sun was slowly going down. The orange light illuminated her face.

_So beautiful. It's hard to notice obvious things like that with all the battles keeping me busy_, he thought dreamily. _Especially those sapphire eyes. So full of life. Shining with happiness. How I missed them. I know I did the right thing when I asked her out._

_I love his chocolate eyes so much, _Dawn thought at that moment. _I've never seen him this happy. But it's not surprising. He has just won the league, after all. Or … or is it because he's with me right now, at this place? No, it can't be. It's Ash I'm thinking about. But … he has already surprised me before quite often. _

"Ash?" she asked.

"Yes?" he whispered back.

"I've dreamt about this moment many times. But it's even better in reality. It's prefect. Thank you everything," she said, turning towards the lake and placing her head on his shoulder without even realizing it. Instinctively, he put his arm around her.

"No, I have to thank you. I've never felt like this before." He told her. "I hope this moment never ends." He placed his head on hers.

She just nodded. There was no need for words. They just sat there, closer than ever, enjoying the sunset. Pikachu and Piplup, who went to play near the lake, saw this and gave each other a high five.

"It's tasting time!" A voice came from one of the bushes nearby.

"What, now?" another one answered.

Cilan and Iris were watching Ash and Dawn.

"Of course! I'll probably never see them like that again. It's perfect for evaluating," he answered.

"And you claim that I'm invasive," Iris said, rolling her eyes.

Piplup soon heard him and, just to be sure, shot a bubblebeam at the bush the noises were coming from. Ash just saw Cilan and Iris falling out of it, soaking wet.

"What are you doing here?" he asked, blushing. They quickly separated.

"We should be asking you," Iris replied, trying to get rid of the water along with Axew.

"We were looking for you," Cilan told him calmly. "You should have told us that you wanted some time alone with her. By the way, I think you are perfect for each other."

"Did you spy on us?" Dawn asked, trying to hide her blush.

"No, we just found you and didn't want to disturb your moment but your pokémon heard us," Cilan explained. "Shouldn't we go back? It's getting a bit cold."

"Fine," Ash agreed. He helped Dawn standing up.

"Now be honest. Are you two together now?" Iris asked bluntly.

"Well, I guess so," Ash said, looking at Dawn, who nodded in agreement.

"We are. But it's still a bit uncomfortable talking about it so please stop it," she told Iris.

"Alright." She nodded. "I think that's a start for kids like you.

They went back to the pokémon center holding hands. There they quickly changed into their pyjamas and went to sleep. Tomorrow, Dawn would go to Castelia City using Espeon's teleport before taking a ship to Hoenn.

* * *

><p>Rose was nervous when she entered the boss' office. There was something in his voice she didn't like. It was probably due to her recent failure but he wouldn't simply get rid of her. She was too useful. At least she hoped so. His houndoom looked up when she approached his desk. She always found them a bit creepy. There was no doubt they would kill anyone after a single command from him.<p>

"So would you care to explain what exactly happened?" The tone in his voice wasn't really encouraging.

"Well, we surrounded Giovanni's hideout and attack with everything we got. But he managed to escape," she told him.

"I see." There was a brief pause. "How did he escape?"

"He fought his way out with his strongest underlings. Many of them fell covering him. In fact, most of Team Rocket's leadership got killed during the attack. Just not Giovanni himself." He still didn't look happy, though.

"They don't matter. As long as Giovanni is there, Team Rocket lives." He sighed. "Are there any good news?"

"They expected the fire to destroy everything inside the hideout but we managed to gain some information on their other bases and their purpose. It seems they try to create new pokémon to use against us." This got his attention.

"Creating new pokémon? I want them. I don't care how but I want them," he said.

"I'll take care of it," she replied but he shook his head.

"No, you've already got enough work. Phoenix will take care of it. Come to think of it. I will relieve you of some of your duties." She was rather shocked to hear that.

"But, sir! I can do it!" Rose sounded desperate.

"I don't think so. Just look at yourself. You're clearly unable to deal with all of it. My decision is final." He didn't have anything else to say so she left again.

This was a most unfortunate turn of events for her. But she wasn't the one to let anyone surpass her, let alone a fanatic like Phoenix. She would regain his trust, no matter the costs.

* * *

><p><strong>Did you expect Ash to lose? That's probably what would have happened in the anime. But he definitely deserves it by now and I won't create another trainer with legendaries just to stop him.<strong>

**Dawn will leave Unova in the next chapter but they will be reunited soon. The Galactic Hunters will play a big role after the grand festival.**


	34. Chapter 34

**This chapter includes the start of the third and last big tournament.**

**Disclaimer: I don't own Pokémon or its characters.**

* * *

><p><span>Chapter 34: Separate Ways<span>

"Ash! Get up!" It was Iris's voice but he didn't want to get up already. He hasn't slept that well for weeks now. In addition, it was grey outside with thick, dark clouds. Not really motivating. "Dawn is going to leave soon."

Immediately, he stood up.

"Why didn't you say that earlier? I have to get ready." Before she could reply, he went to the bathroom.

"Geez, such a kid. She's waiting at the entrance!" she shouted after him.

He hurried but still tried to do it properly. After all, he didn't want to look like a slob in front of her. It took him quite some time until he was satisfied and quickly went to the entrance, where his friends were talking about various things. He decided not to disturb them yet and hid behind the door.

"We can watch every grand festival now since they bought the rights to broadcast them here shortly before the Wallace Cup," Cilan told Dawn. "We will be rooting for you."

"That's great. It's still sad to part ways after such a long time. I'll miss you both," she said. "Iris, good luck becoming a Dragon Master. And give Ash a break. He isn't a kid even though he is kind of dense."

"Come to think of it, he acted a bit more mature with you around. Maybe you have good influence on him? Who knows?" She shrugged and hugged the coordinator. "Anyway, it was great to meet you. And I hope it won't be the last time."

"Count on it. Maybe you can go to Sinnoh or one of the other regions. I'm sure you would enjoy it." Finally she turned to Cilan. "I must say, your profession is fascinating. I wish we had connoisseurs in Sinnoh."

"Everything will come in time," he replied, shaking her hand. "Good luck at the grand festival. And don't worry about Ash. We'll make sure he doesn't do anything stupid."

"Why should I do anything stupid?" Ash finally revealed his presence. "Fist Iris and now you."

"Ash! I was starting to think you wouldn't make it," she teased.

"Hey, you know I wouldn't let you go just like that. I wanted to tell you that it was great to have you around and it will be even better when we meet again. Because we will. That's a promise." He raised on of his hands and she gave him a high five.

"A promise! And when we do, I'll be a top coordinator." She gave him a confident smile.

"I wouldn't expect any less from you. No need to worry, right?" He knew that she was still sad despite the smile. But her catchphrase cheered her up.

"Yes, Ash. For you, I'll become the best I can." She gave him a tight hug, which also made him a bit sad since he wouldn't get one again for some time. "Good luck in your battles against the Elite Four. I'll watch and cheer for you. Never forget that."

"And I will do the same for you." Pikachu jumped on her shoulder. "I'll miss you too, Pikachu. Here's someone who will miss you even more."

She called out Espeon and Buneary, who immediately knocked him off Dawn's shoulder, hugging him tightly.

"Piplup, take good care of her. I'm counting on you," Ash told the penguin pokémon, who proudly puffed up his chest before also saying goodbye to Pikachu.

"I'm afraid it's time to go." Her pokémon looked really sad but they would see Pikachu and the others again. They went back to their trainer and waved the others goodbye. "We had a wonderful time here. A longer speech will only make it harder, so goodbye, everyone."

"Bye, take care!" Cilan replied.

"Yeah. And good luck," Iris added.

"Bya, Dawn. We'll see each other again soon. Don't forget. It's a promise," Ash said, giving her thumbs up.

"No need to worry. Espeon, use teleport!" With a bright flash they disappeared.

"Now tell me, Ash," Iris spoke up. "What did you do while she was sick that made you so embarrassed. I won't tell her and now that you're together it shouldn't be such a big deal anymore."

"Uh, well …" He still was a bit hesitant. "I kissed her forehead while she was sleeping. I didn't mean to do it! It just happened."

"That's all?" She could hardly believe it. "You're making such big deal out of it? Sometimes …"

"Alright, I understand. I'm such a kid." He rolled his eyes. "By the way, where's Bianca?"

"She said something about having to train hard and ran off," Iris answered.

"Okay." His stomach grumbled. "Let's get some breakfast. I'm hungry."

Meanwhile, Dawn was standing at the Castelia City harbor.

"Don't worry. We'll see them again soon enough. We promised," she told her pokémon.

She had no trouble finding the ship, which went off soon after she entered it. Hoenn was waiting for her.

* * *

><p>Several days have passed since Dawn left Unova. Since Ash was up against the Elite Four, he decided not only to use his Unova pokémon but those from his last journeys as well. As Shauntal was using ghost types, Ash's chosen pokémon were Scrafty, Krokorok, Noctowl, Torkoal, Glalie and Pikachu. But things weren't going too well right now. Even though he just defeated Cilan in a battle, he wasn't content.<p>

"This is getting frustrating. I wish Dawn was here. She has a gengar and a froslass. Training to battle ghost types without a ghost type is stupid," he complained.

"Sorry about not having a ghost type," Iris replied, rolling her eyes. "But if I remember correctly, you don't have one either."

"I'm sorry, I'm just really stressed. This is my first time battling an Elite Four member for real and I don't want to make a fool of myself," he said with a sigh.

"But maybe you should also prepare for the other members as well? The battles against them usually come directly after," Cilan told him.

"What? I thought there would be at least one more week after each of them. How am I supposed to do all that in just three weeks?" He thought about it for a moment. "I think I can do it. It will be difficult but it's definitely possible. No need to worry."

Cilan and Iris smirked upon hearing Dawn's catchphrase. He already missed her quite a lot.

"Hey, what's with that smirk? What are the other Elite Four members' specialization?" Ash asked them.

"Marshal is a fighting type trainer, Caitlin uses psychic types and Grimsley dark types," Cilan answered.

In the end, he was glad that Cilan mentioned it so that he wouldn't get caught off guard after the battle against Shauntal. He probably would have gotten the information anyway as he received a letter with all the information he needed a few days later but it gave him some more time to train his other pokémon as well. It was difficult to decide on which pokémon to use. Against Marshal, he would use Unfezant, Muk, Staraptor, Heracross, Bulbasaur and Infernape. For the battle against Grimsley, he chose Emboar, Infernape, Heracross, Leavanny, Scrafty and Buizel. And, finally, in the battle against Caitlin he would rely on Gigalith, Scrafty, Krokorok, Sceptile, Leavanny and Donphan. He didn't try to think about a battle against Alder yet as it would only distract him.

With the help from Iris and Cilan, he made a lot of progress. His old pokémon quickly got friends with his new ones, working together really well. With every day he got more confident.

The voyage to Hoenn was pretty uneventful. Dawn used it mainly to train her pokémon, focusing on double battles since most of them were still inexperienced at that. Most of them were quick learners, though, and she even managed to create two new, major combinations, which she dubbed White Inferno and Shadow Fire. She didn't know whether she would use them at the grand festival yet, as they proved to be hard to set up.

Fortunately, the Hoenn Grand Festival took place in Slateport City, where the ship arrived after a long time, so she didn't have to travel even more. There she was welcomed by Zoey and Kenny.

"There you are! Welcome back to Hoenn," Zoey hugged her. "We saw Ash's victory. It was quite exciting, wasn't it?" Kenny groaned, not really liking the subject.

"Oh, yes. He was incredible! I wish I could have stayed longer to watch his battles against the Elite Four as well but the grand festival won't wait for me. Anyway, how are you? Did anything happen while I was in Unova?" Their faces darkened.

"Many things happened," Kenny replied. "Although you probably wouldn't notice unless you'd leave the city."

"What do you mean?" Dawn asked curiously.

"Poachers," Zoey answered. "And not the kind we met during out journey. These are professionals, equipped with modern technology and usually accompanied by many pokémon with red glowing eyes. Yes, it's them."

"That's horrible. Have encountered any of them yourself?" The looks on their faces told her that they did.

"Yes, but we should get going now. You need a room and maybe our hotel still has one left. We'll tell you on the way." As soon as they started moving, Zoey continued. "It was about one week ago. We were looking for a more secluded place to train so we left the city. Well, you know our moves can be really flashy and they appeared to have attracted one of them. Before we knew what was going on, he had already turned two of our pokémon to stone. Fortunately, Kenny's alakazam managed to destroy his cannon with psychic. The golbat accompanying him and his own pokémon weren't a problem for us but he escaped. That's pretty much it. Our pokémon were turned back to normal with hidden power and he lost some of his own. But he's probably still out there."

"I'm just glad nothing else happened to you. Those people are serious business." Dawn knew that she would run into them again sooner or later.

"It should be safe now as long as you don't go too far into the wilderness," Kenny told her. "A few days later, the police doubled their numbers in Slateport City and the surrounding areas. They probably want to keep the coordinators safe during the grand festival. It didn't stop the poachers from just going somewhere else and attacking the trainers there. By the way, I don't even know whether we can really call them poachers. Most of the pokémon they steal don't appear on the black market if I heard correctly. Rumours say that they are used in a war against Team Rocket instead."

"I see. I hope the police get the situation under control soon," she replied.

They continued to talk about that problem until they arrived at the hotel. Fortunately for Dawn, it still had a few rooms left and as a coordinator she got a small discount. When she saw the videophone, she got an idea.

"I think I'll call Ash. I already miss him," she said.

"Okay. I'll go training again. See you," Kenny replied, getting away as soon as possible.

"Alright. See you later." Dawn picked up the phone and dialed the number she got from Ash.

He was out training, though, but nurse Joy said that she would tell him once he got back so that he would call back.

"So how are things between you two?" Zoey asked after Dawn hung up again.

"Well, he asked me out." Her friend didn't expect that. "And I said yes. We had a little, romantic evening near a lake but Iris and Cilan interrupted it. I can't wait for more."

"Wow, I didn't think he would do that. It must have been quite a surprise for you. But you're still happy, aren't you?" A squeal was all she needed to hear.

"Of course I am! This is so much more I would have ever hoped for. Ash asked me out. Just think about it!" She didn't let her, though, as she just continued. "Sure, he just asked me out. He didn't say he loved me or something like that. But it's fine. I'm positive that it will come with time."

"Aw, you didn't even kiss? Congratulations anyway! I told you he liked you. But you should register for the grand festival now. And then you can show me that you haven't become weaker during the last week," Zoey suggested.

"Good idea," Dawn agreed. "Hopefully, Ash will call in the evening."

The registration was done quickly. Dawn also received a manual which contained all the information she needed. A few parts surprised her quite a bit.

"Let's have a look … two appeals rounds? That's a strange rule," she remarked.

"Have a closer look. It gets weirder," Zoey told her.

"What?" Dawn gasped. "Only one move allowed during the first appeal? I can't say I like it. There are only so many moves the people can use before it starts to get repetitive."

"You're not the only one. But it won't stop me," Zoey claimed. "Glameow will make it without a problem. Do you have any idea which pokémon to use?"

"I just got to know the rules so obviously not. At least the rest seems to be normal." She put the manual in her bag. "Anyway, you said something about a battle? How about now?"

"Great." Zoey grabbed her hand. "Let's go. I know a perfect place for it."

They had a few larger double battles. Since Zoey had a lot more time to practice them she had the upper hand the whole time. Nevertheless, Dawn was determined to find out, who worked well together. Testing pretty much every different combination, she found some good teams like Ninetales and Leafeon. Soon Kenny joined them and together, they trained until it was already late. So they went back to the hotel. A bit later, Dawn received a call and since she had a videophone in her own room, she could talk without interruptions. Unsurprisingly, it was Ash.

"Hey, Dawn. I hope you had a nice journey," he said.

"It's so good to see you again. And it was pretty boring on the ship. We used the time to train hard but nothing else happened," she told him.

"I see. Anyway, I'm already missing you." Her heart melted.

"I miss you too. I mean, it's great to have Zoey and Kenny around but it's just not the same without you now." He sighed.

"I know, I feel the same way. I'm making a lot of progress even though it would be great to have a ghost or psychic type to train with. My other pokémon are doing great. They made friends with my Unova pokémon in no time. But I somehow also miss your support. It always motivated me to go further," he said with a smile.

"Don't forget that I still support you. I'm just a bit further away." He nodded.

"So how are you doing? Are you ready for the grand festival?" She managed a weak smile but he knew it was fake.

"Oh yes. No need to worry." He didn't believe her, raising an eyebrow. "Not very convincing, huh? Today it didn't go the way I wanted. Not only did I find out that the rules are a bit different from those in Sinnoh but my pokémon also don't work together as well as I'd like. Now I don't only have to decide which pokémon and move to use for the first round but I also have to find powerful teams for the double battles and train them. It's not going to be easy."

"I have no doubt you'll make it. You know, when this is over, I'd like to show you Pallet Town. I'm sure you'll like it as it's a lot like Twinleaf Town. You haven't met my mother yet, have you?" he asked.

"Uh, no. Not yet." She was a bit nervous about that.

"Hey, I'm sure she'll like you," he said, sensing her nervousness. "Besides, there's also professor Oak and others."

"Oh, the poetry professor!" It was already gone. "I'd love to meet him again."

"There are also contests in Kanto. You can compete while we're traveling. What do you say?" He didn't have to ask her twice.

"Of course I'd go with you. It's always exciting exploring a new region but with you, it would be even more amazing," she told him.

"I knew you'd like my idea. Kanto has many things to offer and I'll do my best to show you all of them. So is there anything else that happened?" he asked.

"You won't stop until you know everything, huh? Do you remember the poachers I told you about?" He nodded. "It looks like they're stronger than ever. Zoey and Kenny even got attacked outside the city but managed to chase him off. I'm just glad I don't have to leave the city."

"That doesn't sound good." Ash thought about it for a while. "Does Team Rocket have something to do with it?"

"Actually, I heard that they are fighting against Team Rocket. They don't seem to like competition a lot," Dawn told him.

"Well, at least they don't work together. So when is the start of the grand festival?" She went to her bag, taking out the manual before returning to the videophone.

"It will start in exactly five days and last for four days," she told him.

"Oh, so the final day is the day of my battle against Shauntal. I don't know whether that's good. My battle is at 10 am. What about yours?" He already assumed that she made it that far.

"Ash, I don't know whether I'll even reach the semi-finals. Anyway, it's … oh no. The first one is also at 10 am, the next one half an hour later and the final is at 2 pm. If I make it I won't be able to see your whole battle," she exclaimed sadly.

"And I won't be able to see yours." There was a brief silence. "You know, I'm starting to regret that I chose to do it that quickly."

"Ash, you had just won the league at that moment and were probably so pumped that you could have taken on the champion himself. It's only natural. I probably would have done the same." It made him feel a bit better. "By the way, where are Iris and Cilan?"

"I have no idea. They didn't tell where they wanted to go. They just said they would return much later," he told her, shrugging. "Is there anything else you'd like to talk about?"

"Not really. I think I'm going to go to sleep soon," Dawn said.

"Already? The voyage must have been exhausting." She nodded.

"True. Send Iris, Cilan, Pikachu and the others my regards. Maybe we can talk tomorrow again," she suggested.

"Good idea," he agreed. "I'll call you at the same time. And you send Zoey, Kenny and your pokémon my regards."

"I will. Good night, Ash. Take care." She waved him goodbye.

"You too. Sweet dreams." Both of them hung up.

The fact that they could still talk to each other gave them new courage which they used to train even harder.

At first, Dawn thought about using Bellossom's petal dance in the first appeals round but she was told that it was quite a common move to use there. So she decided against it as she wanted to do something more unique. They soon discovered that using leaf storm while spinning was very similar to petal dance but it had more power. After a bit more training she was content with the result. Espeon and Piplup turned out to be quite a team as well as Milotic and Scizor. Every evening she talked to Ash about the day, learning quite a few things that way. He was getting more excited each day as the battles against the Elite Four approached rapidly.

She also wanted Typhlosion and Gengar to work together for the Shadow Fire combination but it didn't go too well. One day before the start of the grand festival she had one last practice battle with Zoey, resulting in a devastating loss. Her pokémon started to fight each other in the middle of the battle after some minor differences.

"This is disastrous," Dawn exclaimed, sinking to her knees. "I don't know whether I can do this."

Her pokémon now started to blame each other for the loss until Piplup stopped them, yelling at the fire and ghost type.

"Thank you, Piplup but this should be my job," she told him. "As the trainer, I should be able to make a real team out of them."

"Some pokémon are just too different to work together," Zoey tried to explain. "Maybe you should try something else."

"I'm sure they can do it. But maybe you're right. Maybe I should use other pokémon in double battles." However, Typhlosion and Gengar didn't want that.

They convinced her to try again only to fail once more. In the end, she wanted to decide on it later. But it worried her greatly. Zoey and Kenny were stronger than ever and something like this could easily ruin a battle completely.

* * *

><p>All the commanders except Bones were currently waiting for the boss to appear in his office. Only Phoenix knew what it was about and it made him nervous. And something that made even him nervous had to be really big. Soon the boss arrived. He sat down and looked at the commander for a while until he finally spoke up.<p>

"So where's Bones?" he asked.

"I don't know, sir," Rose answered. "Maybe he didn't get the message?"

"Don't be ridiculous," he snapped at her. He must have been really angry as he usually was calm and collected, sometimes even laughing despite bad news. "I made sure all of you got my messages. I can only assume he's the traitor."

"What?" Viper asked. "I thought the traitor was already eliminated."

"I have no idea whether he's the same one or another. But someone betrayed us recently." Everyone looked at Rose as she was really close to Bones. "Phoenix, tell them!"

"When we arrived at the Team Rocket bases, they were already empty. However, the pokémon were still there, growing in big tubes. But upon touching them, all of the bases blew up at the same time. We not only lost many men but also all those new pokémon. And they can't be replaced," he told them.

"Someone must have told them about our plans. So they made a trap," the boss concluded.

"But why didn't they take the pokémon with them?" Hawk asked. "They just destroyed them."

"Those tubes were huge and probably essential to their survival. I think they just didn't have enough time to do that," Phoenix replied.

"Now tell me, Rose." The boss turned to her. "Do you think Bones is the traitor? Why would he do that?"

"I can't believe he did it! He isn't a traitor. How could he have done it anyway? I thought you had him observed all the time." But she knew that it was useless.

"I don't know how he did it. There were no suspicious activities so he must have found another way to do it." The boss sighed. "There's no doubt. I want him brought to me. Dead or alive. Rose, you search his office for clues, understood?"

"Yes, sir!" She quickly walked off.

"Metagross, where do you think he is right now?" He called out a metagross, which talked to him telepathically.

"Not enough information to make a good assumption. There's a 12.7% chance he returned to his home town," it told him.

"Fine. Team Rocket is a more pressing matter anyway. Return to your duties!" Everyone left the office before he recalled Metagross again. "That maggot will pay for this."

Rose quickly made her way towards Bone's office. Even she believed that he was the traitor now.

"Stupid, useless, traitorous, silly, idiotic …." She mumbled when she reached it. "If I ever see him again …"

Unsurprisingly, the door was locked.

"Breloom, come on out and use focus punch!" It quickly destroyed the door. "Thank you. Now let's have a look."

The first thing she noticed was a letter lying on the desk. She took it immediately, starting to read it.

_Dear Rose,_

_I'm sorry. I just can't do it anymore. At first I thought you would come to your senses again but it appears I was wrong. These horrible devices you made must be destroyed. At least I won't allow them to be used on my pokémon. I hope you can understand that._  
><em>So I'm leaving the Galactic Hunters. Ever since Charon started to pursue his goal of complete domination of all pokémon the organization has become more and more like Team Rocket. I know your goals are different but you still help him.<em>  
><em>Since the police would probably never believe me, I'll just stay out of trouble for now. Don't try to find me. We'll see each other again one day. Hopefully, you have the courage to follow your own path by then.<em>

_Love, Robert / Commander Bones_

Angrily, Rose tore the letter to pieces. It sounded to her like he was in a hurry when he wrote it. Still, there was no mention of treason. Maybe he was innocent, after all, but he still abandonned her.

* * *

><p>Dawn, Zoey and Kenny were waiting for their turn. Since Dawn knew that Ash was watching she was determined to get far. He told her more about his plans for the Kanto journey, which included a visit to O, who was still training her ambipom. It motivated her even more.<p>

Although the appeals were usually really short it still took much longer than expected simply due to the large amount of coordinators. So it kind of made sense to lower the amount to 64 for the real appeals. Their own appeals were done quickly as well.

Kenny used his alakazam for a powerful future sight attack. When the lightning shot down at him, it split up just above him and the smaller bolt hit the surrounding area with unexpected force. Zoey's glameow used shockwave on his tail to create a lightning cage, which got destroyed in a flashy explosion when he crushed it with his tail. Then it was Bellossom's turn. Using leaf storm while spinning created a move which resembled a combination of petal dance and leaf tornado. When she was done, the leaves fell to the ground like knives, forming a heart as seen from above.

_I hope Ash gets my little message_, Dawn thought. _But since it Ash I doubt it._

It was then that they saw Ursula for the first time at the grand festival. Her Cryogonal used frost breath while spinning to create a beautiful, sparkly vortex of ice right above it. There were even more good appeals until everyone was done at last.

The results came soon after with all of them advancing without any problem. As they were done for the day they tried to relax now. Ash called in the evening to congratulate all of them. As expected he didn't notice Dawn's little hint. Still, he was being very sweet and everything he told her about his plans made her even more excited about meeting him again.

After a good night's sleep she and her friends were ready for the next round.

* * *

><p><strong>The real deal will start in the next chapter.<strong>


	35. Chapter 35

**Disclaimer: I don't own Pokémon or its characters.**

* * *

><p><span>Chapter 35: Hoenn Grand Festival<span>

"Whimsicott, it's your turn!" Kenny shouted.

He was one of the first to make his appeal. To everyone's surprise, he chose an Unova pokémon.

"I didn't know he had a pokémon from Unova," Dawn remarked. "He never used it in the training battles."

"You don't really think we really went to Unova without capturing even one of the pokémon there, do you?" Zoey asked. "I also caught one and you'll probably see it in one of the battles. Did you also catch one?"

"Of course! And I'm going to use him soon. But let's just watch Kenny's appeal right now." They turned their attention back to Whimsicoot, who had created a hurricane and was currently standing in its center.

"Ride the wind and use cotton guard!" It got blown away by the wind, starting to fly in circles above the stage and it looked like it had a lot of fun. Then it created a wall of cotton behind it, which followed the windveiled pokémon.

"Now razor leaf!" After a few more graceful moves it shot the leaves at the wall, cutting it into smaller balls. "Use gust!" It blew the cotton at the ground at the center. "Grass knot!" By using that move it made sure that they didn't get blown away by the wind as the grass knots tied around them.

"Tail wind!" Kenny's pokémon got faster and faster, starting to spin while moving. When the hurricane subsided, it crushed right into the cotton like a drill but emerged again seconds later, waving to crowd. "Thanks. Well done!"

"Like a balloon in the wind!" Marian shouted. "That was really cute and original."

Unsurprisingly, he was praised for his performance. In fact, he seemed to have changed quite a lot since his loss at the Wallace Cup. He wasn't only a lot more confident but he also seemed stronger than usual.

"So how was it?" he asked when he was backstage again.

"You were great. I don't think you have to worry about not making it to the next round this time," Dawn told him.

"I agree. That was an awesome appeal," Zoey said.

A few appeals later it was her turn.

"Gallade! Curtain!" she exclaimed. "Start with psycho cut!" He shot several purple glowing crescents in different directions. "Control them with psychic and use hidden power!" Immediately, the crescents stopped in midair and got hit by light blue orbs, which turned them turquoise.

"Now use shadow ball!" A lot of smaller shadow balls appeared around him before the crescents shot right at him. They cleaved the balls, which resulted in purple flashes but missed the pokémon himself because of his graceful moves.

"Teleport and hidden power!" He reappeared at the other end of the stage, creating hidden power orbs this time. The crescent, which followed him made them explode as well but the coulour was blue this time.

"Once more with psyshock!" It was pretty much the same, only with pure white flashes. Now he was ready for the big final.

"Teleport and night slash!" He teleported right at the center of the stage, where he got approached by the crescents from all sides. His forearms glowed purple and with a whirling dance he managed to destroy all the crescents without any problem. "You were awesome!"

"Speed, elegance and a great light show. What else do you need?" the MC shouted.

The judges seemed to have liked it so she received good reviews. Her fiends loved it but Dawn didn't have time to talk about it since she was up next.

"Piplup! Spotlight!" It has been a long time since he was in a contest so he was eager to show off.

Ash, Iris and Cilan watched the whole contest.

"I've never seen Piplup in a contest battle," Iris remarked.

"He's great. Don't worry about the appeal," Ash told her. "She'll be fine."

"Let's do our fountain combination. Use whirlpool!" Dawn shouted. He created a massive whirlpool and held it.

"Whirlpool again!" A second, smaller whirlpool rose from the first one. "Once more!" Now a third, even smaller one emerged from the second. It was not only the display of three whirlpools that looked like a fountain but also the size that made it impressive. Actually, everyone expected Piplup to collapse any second as he seemed so small compared to them.

"Now hydro pump!" But he actually went even further, by shooting a massive stream of water up the whirlpool. It shot out of the third again, making it look even more like a real fountain. However, this made it a lot harder to maintain.

"I wonder how much longer he can hold it," Cilan mumble, noticing that Piplup was struggling.

"I'm sure she knows what she's doing." He had no doubt that Piplup could handle it.

"Well done! Get your drink now!" The hydro pump stopped and the fountain started to shrink without changing its shape. Soon it was like a miniature version of its former self, hovering just above the small penguin pokémon. He quickly caught it with his beak and gulped it before puffing out his chest proudly. "Well done Piplup. That was amazing."

"Such a small pokémon created massive whirlpools like that. It must have been incredibly difficult to control them." Marian was right. Although he seemed normal, Piplup was terribly exhausted so Dawn took him in her arms so that he didn't have to walk.

She received very good reviews for her appeal, which gave her more confidence. She joined her friends backstage again.

"Piplup was incredible," Kenny admitted. "I think even some prinplups would have had problems with such an appeal."

"Yeah, you can be proud of him and yourself. I'm impressed," Zoey told her.

"Stop it! After all, you were awesome as well. Gallade's elegance was incredible," Dawn replied. "You have done a great job with him."

They proceeded to watch the rest of the appeals. There were some really good ones among them. One of the best was made by a female coordinator with pink hair and blue eyes called Solidad. Zoey seemed to know a lot about her, fearing that she might become one of her strongest opponents. Dawn knew only the few things May told her about the top coordinator. Another very good appeal was made by Harley, whom they met during one of the contests Dawn won.

Ursula was one of the last to make her appeal.

"Solrock! Time to shine! Start with rock slide!" Several rocks of different sizes fell to the ground surrounding the pokémon.

"Wonder room and cosmic power!" This strange combination turned the whole stage pitch black with tiny light sources looking like stars in the night sky. "Now telekinesis!" The rocks rose and started to circle Solrock, who stayed in the center. It almost looked like a solar system with Solrock being the sun and the rocks being the planets.

"Time for the supernova! Use fire spin!" A vortex of fire appeared below it, slowly drawing in the rocks. When they got close enough, Ursula gave a last command. "Psywave!" The wave absorbed some power from the fire spin, taking on a burning look. When it collided with the rocks, they got destroyed in a fiery explosion. The stage turned back to normal right after.

"Who says you can't learn a thing or two about the universe in a contest?" the MC asked the audience.

Nobody had any doubts that she would make it after hearing the reviews. The rest of the appeals were good but nothing special.

Finally, the coordinators advancing to the next round were shown. They included Dawn, Zoey, Kenny, Ursula, Solidad and Harley. Especially Kenny was relieved which wasn't surprising considering his loss at the last grand festival. The next battles were also announced, revealing everyone to have unknown opponents. They tried not to underestimate them as arrogance could lead to a quick defeat.

They trained a bit more for the rest of the day until they went to Zoey's room to celebrate the results a bit. Dawn got a call from Ash at that time, which got redirected to Zoey's videophone.

"Hey, everybody," he greeted them. "Congratulations on reaching the next round. You all deserved it."

"Yeah, from us too," Iris, who was with him this time, added.

"It's good to see you two again," Dawn said. "And thanks. We're doing our best."

"Yeah. So are you prepared for your battle against the Elite Four?" Zoey asked.

"I am. There's nothing that can stop me now," he claimed.

"So no distractions this time?" Kenny hit a weak spot.

"I think there is something," Iris remarked. "I heard him mumble Dawn's name while sleeping."

Both he and Dawn immediately blushed heavily.

"I didn't!" he replied. "Why are even listening to me while I'm asleep?"

"It's not like I'm trying to. You were already asleep when we returned last night," she told him. "Was it a wet dream?"

"I can't believe you asked me that!" he yelled, blushing even more.

"Aw, come on, Ash. Just admit that you love her," Zoey teased.

"Uh, I think I have to go to the bathroom," he claimed, running away quickly.

Dawn tried to keep quiet because she also had a few dreams about him. Hopefully, the others wouldn't ask her about it.

"I think that was pretty obvious," Zoey remarked. "Now that he's gone, why don't you admit that you love him, Dawn?"

"Bathroom!" she stammered before storming off.

"Geez. They would battle all the champions in the world at the same time but something like this makes them look like scared, little children," Zoey complained.

"Yeah, they're so similar," Iris agreed.

"Maybe you go a bit too far with your teasing sometimes," Cilan suggested but they shook their heads.

"They're just too innocent," Zoey said.

Meanwhile, Ash was washing his face, which was still red.

_That was embarrassing, _he thought_. She found out that I have dreams about her. I sure hope she doesn't believe that they are dirty. How could Iris even think that? And then Zoey just asked me to tell Dawn that I love her. As if I would do that over videophone with four people watching me. Dawn should understand that and not jump to wrong conclusions. Anyway, they're probably back to normal by now. _

Dawn was having the same thoughts at that moment but she was also a bit sad that he didn't do what Zoey asked. She could understand it, though. When they went back to the others, the call was already so Ash called her once more to wish her luck for the double battles. The call ended up being much longer than he anticipated with them talking for nearly an hour until Iris had enough and ended it herself since she wanted to sleep.

The next day, the battles started early as there were a lot of them. Ursula and Kenny had no problems with their opponents, defeating them easily. Then it was Dawn's turn.

"Piplup, Espeon! Spotlight!" She was confident that this team would win it.

"Scyther, Manectric! Go!" Her opponent was a young coordinator called Patrick. "Start with discharge!"

"Protect!" Espeon quickly jumped in front of Piplup, shielding him from harm. Scyther used swords dance, somehow absorbing the electric energy and channeling it in its scythes, which sparkled with energy. "Use the teleport ice beam combo!" Espeon teleported both of them behind Scyther. Piplup used drill peck and followed up with ice beam before it could retaliate, which pushed him back at Espeon while hurting Scyther. As soon as they were together again, the sun pokémon teleported them back to safety.

"Use thunder wave. Scyther, agility!" Menectric tried to paralyze its opponents but they used their combination several times more not only to dodge the beam but also to hurt and interrupt Scyther. "Swords dance! Thunderbolt!" Not even spinning around helped the bug type as Espeon simply teleported right above it where it was still vulnerable. Manectric couldn't use the move as Espeon was always careful not to give it any chance to hit without also hitting its ally. However, all the teleporting cost a lot of strength so that she had to stop after a bit later. It was rewarding, though, as Scyther took massive damage during the attacks and Patrick's points were cut nearly to half. Three minutes were left and Dawn was trying something different now.

"Wow, that was amazing," Iris said. "It's like Espeon knew exactly where to teleport to evade all the attacks."

"Dawn told me that Espeon can use her fur to predict her enemies' moves," Cilan explained.

"What else is there to say? She's amazing," Ash summed it up.

"Blizzard!" Piplup released a storm of ice.

"Flamethrower!" Manectric repelled the attack successfully. Patrick saw his chance. "Use thunderbolt! Scyther, use x-scissor!" It shot an x-shaped energy blade, which got strengthened by the thunderbolt at Espeon. Piplup jumped in front of it, using protect but it still pushed them back. "Again!"

"Use teleport!" The sun pokémon teleported directly in front of Scyther along with Piplup after it shot another energy blade at them. "Drill peck!" Patrick knew that it wouldn't withstand another attack so he decided to at least deal some major damage to Dawn's pokémon.

"Scyther, x-scissor again! Manectric, use thunderbolt! Full power!" Piplup spun, evading the attack and hitting the bug type in the stomach.

"Hidden power!" Since Manectric was too close to Piplup for the orbs to reach him in time, Espeon teleported in front of him, taking the damage until the orbs were ready and absorbed the damage. Then she shot them right at the electric type, who dodged them.

Scyther was finished and collapsed, nearly crushing Piplup in the process. This cost Patrick even more points. While he had only a bit less than a quarter left, Dawn still had more than half of her points. There was still one and a half minute left but he has already given up hope.

"Thank you, Scyther," he said, recalling it.

"Psyshock!" Dawn commanded.

"Dodge it and use discharge!" Once again, she used hidden power orbs to surround herself and Piplup like a shield.

"That's the advantage of using small pokémon," Cilan pointed out.

"Telekinesis!" Manectric started to levitate but its movements were under Espeon's control now. "Psyshock!"

"Protect!" It could still use its moves, though, so it blocked the attack. "Flamethrower!" Piplup used hydro pump to quickly overpower the fire move and Espeon used psychic to form the end of the stream into a dragon's head, which swallowed the fire.

A signal marked the end of the battle as Patrick's points reached zero.

"Patrick has no points so Dawn is the winner!" Marian announced.

"You fought bravely, Manectric. You stood until the end and you can be proud of that," Patrick told his pokémon before recalling it. "Take a rest." Without another word he left the stage.

"Thank you, Piplup, Espeon. You did an amazing job." Dawn also recalled her pokémon and returned to the others.

There, her friends were already watching the next battle, Solidad against an unknown coordinator.

"Well done, Deedee," Kenny said. "Looks like you didn't have any problems."

"I thought you stopped calling me that," she replied, frowning.

"Maybe it's because I'm in such a good mood." He shrugged. "Anyway, good job."

"It was nothing against your battle. You defeated your opponent even more easily," she countered.

"Oh stop it, you two," Zoey remarked. "You both pretty much steamrolled them. Better have a look at this battle. Solidad is about to win and if I make it as well, she'll be my next opponent."

"Wow, she's good," Kenny admitted after the coordinator from Kanto finished it with an awesome combination.

"Yes, this won't be easy," Dawn agreed.

They continued to watch the rest of the battles, which weren't too exciting as most times, one of the coordinators was completely dominant. As expected, Zoey had no trouble winning against her opponent. Harley also made it to the last sixteen and would be up against Ursula next.

After the last battle there was a break, which everyone used to have lunch. They didn't talk very much since everyone was already thinking about their next battle.

Zoey was one of the first to have hers after the break.

"Mismagius, Mienshao! Curtain!" The rare Unova pokémon made the audience pretty excited.

"Slowbro, Pidgeot! Battle time! Start with feather dance!" Pidgeot shot white glowing feathers at Mienshao.

"Redirect them with psychic! Mienshao, use aura sphere!" Small aura spheres hit the feathers, which stopped in midair, increasing their power before they were shot back at Pidgeot. "Shadow ball and aura sphere!" The attacks combined, merging into a multicoloured orb.

"Use gust and psychic!" The gust stopped the feathers, which then were used by Slowbro to create a wall, which blocked the orb. "Now yawn and gust!" Slowbro released a small, blue bubble from its mouth, which got blown into Mienshao's face by the gust. It got sleepy but still had time for one move.

"Use double slap on yourself!" The sharp pain prevented it from falling asleep but it also cost Zoey some points. "Use hi jump kick! Magical leaf!"

"Counter with psychic!" Mienshao stopped in midair before it got smashed into the ground, knocking away the leaves on the way down. "Pidgeot, use whirlwind!" It flew in front of the fighting type, flapping its wings rapidly. The strong wind pushed it back, right into Mismagius. "Now hurricane and ice beam!"

"Protect!" But Zoey's pokémon were too slow. The white energy blades, which turned blue when making contact with the ice beam, hit them, releasing a powerful, icy wind on contact. It blew them even further away and froze the ground around them.

"Wow, she's good." Iris was surprised. "Do you know her?"

"Yes, she also beat May at the Kanto Grand Festival. Definitely one of the best coordinators in the world," Ash told her.

"Double team and aerial ace!" The flying type and several copies were charging at Mienshao and Mismagius.

"Lucky chant!" Red tentacles appeared, which destroyed the copies and grabbed the real Pidgeot as soon as it was hit. "Thunder! Aura sphere!" The electric move dealt brutal damage through the tentacles.

"Psychic on Mienshao!" It pulled the fighting type into the tentacles, which shocked it as well. Mismagius immediately stopped the thunder attack.

"Force palm and charge beam!" The combination created an electric force burst, which sent Pidgeot flying back at Slowbro.

Two minutes were left now with both of them having only a little more than a quarter of their points left. Zoey wanted to finish it quickly by taking out Pidgeot, who was already heavily damaged. And she didn't want Slowbro's psychic to get in her way this time.

"Use dark pulse on Mienshao! Hi jump kick!" The fighting got surrounded by a dark aura, which repelled any psychic move before it jumped up high. "Telekinesis!" Pidgeot couldn't dodge now.

"Hurricane and ice beam!" They used the same combination they used before to slow it down considerably, which also lowered the damage from the hi jump kick quite a bit while damaging Mienshao at the same time. Still, Pidgeot took a lot of damage as well. Both of them were close to fainting so the coordinators had to act quickly. "Ice beam!"

"Dark pulse!" The attacks collided next to the struggling pokémon, resulting in a explosion, which hurt them even more.

Pidgeot was still struggling when Mienshao fainted, reducing Zoey's points to zero. The signal came right away.

"That was close! In fact, that was one of the closest victories I've ever seen. And the winner is Solidad! Congratulations!" the MC announced.

"Wonderful work!" Solidad praised her pokémon. "You can be proud of yourself."

"Don't feel bad. You were great," Zoey consoled her pokémon before recalling them and going to Solidad. "That didn't go the way I wanted but I guess you can't expect to always win on that level. It was a pleasure to battle you."

"It could have easily ended the other way. You certainly deserve your title of top coordinator and I hope to see you again," she replied.

"I'm sure of it. Good luck in the future." They made way for the next match, which was Kenny against a young coordinator from Hoenn.

"I'm so sorry about your loss," Dawn said sadly when they met backstage.

"It's okay. I lost to a real top coordinator so I have no regrets. But you better prepare for her as you'll be her next opponent if you win your own battle," she told her.

Dawn already knew which pokémon to use against Solidad. For someone like this she saved the White Inferno combination. But first, she had to win against her current opponent. Although she didn't seem to be very strong, Dawn didn't want to take any risks.

As expected Kenny won soon even though it was harder than he expected. The battle between Ursula and Harley was dirty with Ursula coming out victorious as her pokémon were a bit stronger.

Then Dawn was up against Miriam from Johto.

"Alakazam, Politoed! Your time has come!" Dawn couldn't help but grin. This was already going better than expected.

"Gengar, Togekiss! Spotlight! Set up the defenses! Gangar, close the distance and use dark pulse!" Togekiss flew up high and used moves like reflect and light screen to protect her ally. The ghost type ran up to Alakazam, shooting a beam of black and purple circles at the psychic type who evaded it by using teleport. Miriam knew that Gengar's defenses were weak so she tried to take her out quickly with one or two psyshocks, leaving Togekiss alone for the moment.

"Use psyshock and scald!" Gengar simply dodged all of their attack, which wasn't difficult due to her speed. "Telekinesis!"

"Protect!" She blocked as it would have made it much more difficult to dodge.

"Why does it run all the time?" Cilan asked. "I thought it can levitate." Ash could already guess why but he didn't want to ruin the surprise.

Togekiss was ready to attack directly.

"Encore on Alakazam!" As it didn't expect an attack from above, it failed to dodge the white orb, which forced it to use psychic shock instead of other moves. "Now we have you! Use night slash! Togekiss, protect Gengar!"

"Teleport! Politoed, use scald again!" It use psyshock again due to the encore but the psychic move hit the target this time and had no effect. "What?" To make things worse, the night slash was much stronger than she expected as gengar usually didn't have a lot of physical strength. Meanwhile, Togekiss easily took the attack from Politoed, taking almost no damage thanks to her strong defenses and the light screen.

"Air slash!" She shot two energy blades at Politoed.

"Get into the water!" Miriam commanded, noticing a pool next to the water type. It jumped there but only hit solid ground before the pool disappeared. "What the …?" In addition, it couldn't even dodge the energy blades, which dealt some damage. Meanwhile, Alakazam was shooting more psyshocks, this time at Togekiss, but Gengar took them all.

"The time has come! Use night daze!" Gengar's hands glowed red. It slammed them into the ground, creating a red force field which expanded throughout the whole battle field. It dealt a lot of damage to all the other pokémon except for Togekiss, who flew up high to avoid it. Then Dawn's pokémon canceled the illusion, revealing himself as Zoroark.

"Wait! Why did it use protect to stop telekinesis if it's immune to it anyway?" Iris asked.

"That would have been pretty suspicious, don't you think?" Cilan pointed out.

"Impossible!" Miriam has obviously never seen a zoroark or zorua before as she still didn't know what really happened. She just knew that this pokémon could create illusions and was immune to psychic type moves. "Alright, focus blast!" However, the encore forced it to use psyshock again.

"Better defeat it before it wears off," Dawn mumbled. "Use dark pulse and air slash!" To Miriam's surprise, he shot the dark pulse at Plitoed, who quickly blocked it with hydro pump. Two long energy blades went right through the black and purple circles, absorbing the energy. Then Zoroark grabbed them and used them as swords against a helpless alakazam. After only a few slashes it was already down. Although he got hit by the hydro pump, the damage was low as the light screen was still active. Miriam recalled Alakazam sadly.

Two minutes were left. Dawn not only had a lot more points but also one more pokémon on the field. She decided to end it quickly.

"Air slash!" Zoroark threw his blades at it and Togekiss created new ones at the tips of her wings.

"Protect!" They shattered when they met the green shield. "Now hyper voice!" Before it could do that, though, two more energy blades hit it in the back, making it flinch.

"Focus blast and aura sphere!" The orbs merged when they met, creating an even bigger, brighter orb. "Psychic!" Togekiss used the move to control the orb.

"Protect!" The orb stopped right in front of Politoed, though, and waited until the shield dissolved before it hit him. It resulted in a huge explosion, which knocked out Politoed.

"Yes, she did it!" Ash exclaimed. "She'll beat even Solidad if she continues like that!"

"You have just seen one of the first zoroark in a contest. After the Unova Wallace Cup there might be more in the future," Marian told the audience. "Having seen it today, I'm already looking forward to it."

"Don't worry. We'll just work harder next time," Miriam told her pokémon. "Good luck to you!" she shouted at Dawn.

"Thanks," she replied. "Well done. You two are a great team."

However, she had to admit that Miriam wasn't exactly a very challenging opponent. The next battle would be totally different.

"So are you ready for Solidad now?" Zoey asked. "You know she will be much stronger."

"I know," she answered. "I won so easily because I had the element of surprise. Nobody expected a zoroark. But now, since everyone knows that I have one, it will be much harder to surprise anyone."

"True," Kenny agreed. "Let's take a break now. We have one hour until the quarter finals start."

Dawn and Zoey agreed so they went to have a little snack. Dawn also went to the pokémon center and changed her current team as she had Lucario with her almost all the time now due to his aura abilities. An hour later, the quarter finals began. The first battle was Dawn against Solidad.

"Butterfree, Lapras! Your turn!" The top coordinator called out her pokémon first.

"Ninetales, Leafeon! Spotlight! Sunny day!" Ninetales started to prepare the weather effect.

"Don't let it do that! Hydro pump! Psychic!" They quickly used their moves on Ninetales.

"Protect! Razor leaf!" Dawn didn't like that she got interrupted but at least she didn't take any damage and Leafeon even dealt some to Lapras, who got hurt by the leaves. "Leafeon, use sunny day! Ninetales, confuse ray!"

"Ice beam and signal beam!" The golden orbs of the confuse ray hit Lapras but it quickly shook it off. Solidad's pokémon started two super-effective moves at the same time. The ice beam created a small pyramid of ice, which acted like a prism for the multicoloured beam, in front of the grass type. It both interrupted him and dealt some damage but most importantly, it decreased Dawn's points.

"Flamethrower!" Ninetales melted the ice before attacking Butterfree, who had no trouble dodging it. "Now sunny day! Both of you!" Once more, they tried to set up the weather effect.

"Psychic and sheer cold!" Butterfree pushed Ninetales away whereas Lapras attempted to freeze the whole stage.

"Fire spin and dig!" Leafeon dug into the ground to escape the freezing cold. The fire type created a vortex of fire at her location, jumping inside, to simply keep the chill away. "Get out and use leaf blade!" The ground was too slippery, though, and he couldn't attack it. Lapras, on the other hand, could move even faster that way and quickly pushed him away.

"Ice beam and signal beam!" It created mirrors of ice, which Butterfree used to reflect the signal beams several times before it hit Leafeon.

"Short sunny day!" This one was done quickly, melting the ice almost instantly. However, Dawn had much less points right now and she still hadn't managed to even use the first move necessary for the combination she wanted to use.

"What's wrong with her?" Iris asked. "All the time she's trying to use sunny day for some reason. She should have given up by now and tried something else."

"She's planning something but I don't know what," Cilan said.

"She knows what she's doing. It's just that Solidad won't just allow her to do it. But I'm sure she'll find a way," Ash told them.

"Ninetales, use sunny day!" It was actually the last try. If it didn't work this time she would have to do something else.

"Psychic!" Ninetales only needed to endure it for a moment as Leafeon was ready to protect her.

"Hidden power!" He shot two large orbs right at its eyes. Butterfree cried in pain, flying around aimlessly for a while.

"Surf!" Lapras charged at the fire type on top of a large wave.

"Leaf blade!" He split the wave in half with his tail and the leaf on his head, knocking away Lapras in the process. The rest of the wave hit the area left and right of Ninetales but not the pokémon herself. Finally, a larger orb appeared above the stage. "You know what to do. One nasty plot should be enough." She used nasty plot, starting to glow white before creating a new, much, much larger vortex of fire at her location.

"She did it! Now is her chance!" Ash shouted.

"Rain dance! Butterfee, use psychic!" However, due to the sunny day Leafeon was much faster now, closing the distance in no time and attacking Lapras with leaf blade. "Ice beam!" Since Lapras would be in big trouble if he managed to hit her too many times, she decided to let it fight him off first. Meanwhile, Butterfree's psychic attack failed as Ninetales used dark pulse on the center of the vortex before, turning the flames purple and rendering them and everything inside immune to psychic moves. Solidad knew that meant trouble so she tried to end it quickly. "Hydro pump!"

"Razor leaf!" That attack was enough to deflect the hydro pump as it was already weakened by the sunny day. Ninetales used extrasensory on the center, which turned the flames pure white.

"Psychic on Leafeon! Lapras, finish it with blizzard!" Butterfree held him in front of Lapras, who knocked it out with one powerful blizzard in the face. This reduced Dawn's points even further, leaving her with little more than a quarter. And only a bit less than two minutes were left.

"Well done, Leafeon. Thank you." Dawn recalled the grass type.

Ninetales used nasty plot again. Then she jumped up high and shot a massive fire blast at the ground. After a bright flash, she was standing in the middle of a huge star-shaped white fire, surrounded by a white sphere. At the tips of the star there were large burning orbs.

"So what exactly does this do?" Cilan asked.

"I have no idea," Ash answered, scratching the back of his head. "But since it took so long to do that it must be something awesome."

Solidad looked at it wearily. Although she also didn't know what it did, she now wished that she had stopped instead of knocking out Leafeon.

Suddenly a stream of white fire shot at Butterfree from one of the orbs. Even though it managed to dodge it, its wings were still burned a bit. It dodged another stream from one of the other orbs but it wasn't fast enough for the third.

"Protect!" The shield had some trouble but protected Butterfree nevertheless. Two more streams soon followed, though, resulting in a large explosion. It was already unconscious when it hit the ground. Now that the power of that combination was shown, Solidad's points decreased dramatically although she still had a few more than Dawn.

"Incredible! Anyway, great job. Take a long rest now. Lapras, use hydro pump!" It took only three streams of fire to vaporize the water completely. Solidad knew she should stop the sunny day but her pokémon would probably get roasted trying. However, she noticed that the orbs were getting smaller with each attack. "Surf!" All the orbs shot their streams of fire simultaneously to vaporize the whole wave and hurt Lapras as well. "Protect!" The shielded absorbed a lot of damage but as soon as it was gone, Lapras was hit by five streams at the same time until they suddenly stopped. The orbs of fire were gone.

"Confuse ray!" She released four golden orbs, which confused Lapras before jumping behind the star of fire. "Ominous wind!" It blew the fire right at Lapras.

"Hydro pump!" This time, the confusion stopped it from doing anything so the flames washed over the pokémon, dealing even more damage.

The battle ended right after with Dawn having a few more points left due to the last attacks.

"What a comeback! I don't think anyone would have expected such a combination!" Marian shouted.

"She did it!" Ash grabbed Iris by the shoulders and shook her. "She did it!"

"I know you're happy but you should let her go now," Cilan remarked with an amused grin.

"Oh, sorry. I just got a bit carried away." She rolled her eyes.

"Such a kid …" she mumbled.

"Thank you, Ninetales. You were amazing." Dawn recalled her pokémon still a bit shakily. This was by far the hardest battle so far.

"Don't worry, Lapras. It was my mistake. I should have never allowed her to finish the combination." Solidad also recalled her pokémon and went over to Dawn, offering her hand. Dawn shook it after a brief pause. "Well done. But now that everyone knows the power of your combination it will be much harder to use."

"That's true," Dawn admitted. "But it helped me win this battle and that's already a lot."

"Alright, enjoy your victory. Good luck in the future battles. Bye." Solidad walked away, waving Dawn goodbye.

"Bye." She returned to her friends only to find out that Kenny was already about to start his own battle.

"Now I really regret not having made it to the quarter finals," Zoey told her. "I could have seen your combination firsthand."

"And you would have lost to it," Dawn pointed out jokingly.

"No way! But congratulations. I told you she was tough." She nodded.

"I would have lost without the White Inferno," she admitted. "But maybe I was just too desperate to use it? It doesn't matter now."

They proceeded to watch Kenny's battle, which was also much more exciting than his last ones. But in the end he managed to defeat his opponent, who used a sceptile and loudred with his skarmory and shuppet. He was Dawn's next opponent. They also watched the last two battles of the day, in which Ursula also reached the semi finals after a hard battle.

Ash called once more that evening to congratulate Dawn and Kenny. They wished each other luck for the next day as it would be, without doubt, one of the most important days in their life so far. There wasn't much else to say so they ended the call soon. Additionally, neither of them wanted to show the own nervousness to the other. They didn't sleep well that night as they were just way too excited. Just a few more hours.

* * *

><p><strong>There will be a big, nasty surprise in the next chapter. But seriously, something big will happen and it won't be good. It will also be a little bit darker and set the last part of the story off. <strong>


	36. Chapter 36

**Thanks PokemonFreak90 for the reviews. They are among the few things that keep me going.**

**This is the longest chapter so far. And one of the major turning points. It was a pain to write.**

**Disclaimer: I don't own Pokémon or its characters.**

* * *

><p><span>Chapter 36: Cold Fury<span>

Ash and Dawn had one more conversation before the start of their battles.

"Hey, Ash," she greeted him.

"Hi, Dawn," he replied. "You had a good night's rest?"

"Not really," she answered. "I was just too excited. I hope you didn't have any dream about me to distract you?"

"What … NO! Not you too! Iris teasing me about it is already more than enough." Dawn giggled. It was just so much fun to tease him sometimes. "But I heard you had the same problem."

"Where did you hear that?" She blushed furiously. "I told no one!"

"I didn't. It was just a test. Guilty as charged." Her blush only intensified. She didn't think he could be that cunning. He just smiled. Revenge was sweet.

"Well, I just called to wish you good luck," she said, changing the subject.

"I don't think I need it but thanks anyway," he replied. "Good luck to you as well!"

"Thanks." She so wanted to feel his touch right now. It always gave her new motivation. But he was far away right now so she had to do without. "It's about to start. I better go now. See you later, Ash."

"Yeah, see you later!" They hung up and went to their respective destinations.

When Ash finally entered the battle field in the stadium he noticed that the audience wasn't as big as during the league. At the other end, Shauntal was standing, reading a book. She smiled when she noticed him.

"Ah, the challenger. I'm Shauntal. A pleasure to meet you," she said after approaching him. "It's your first battle against an Elite Four member?"

"Well, it's the first official battle," he told her. "And you won't stop me."

"Such confidence … I like it. I hope I live up to your expectations. But we should get ready now." He nodded and they went to their places at the ends of the battle field. Ash's thoughts shortly drifted to Dawn, whose own battle should start any second now.

"Welcome to the match between the Elite Four member Shauntal and the challenger Ash. It will be a full six on six battle with substitutes. Battle, begin!" the referee announced.

"Jellicent, please do this for me!" She called out her first ghost type.

"Scrafty, I choose you! Start with bulk up!" He flexed, becoming surrounded by a red aura. "Now faint attack!"

"Hydro pump!" The ghost type shot several streams of water at Scrafty, who dodged them and feigned a frontal attack before jumping up and attacking from above. "Very good. Use hydro pump and psychic!" It used the psychic move to surround itself with an orb of water, from where it fired water pulses in all directions. One of them hit Scrafty without doing a lot of damage.

"Thunder punch!" He hit the surface of the orb, shocking everything inside and causing the orb to burst. "Crunch!" The ghost type, who was being dragged away by the water, got grabbed and bitten by Scrafty.

"Will-o-wisp!" Shauntal's pokémon couldn't miss from that distance and caused a severe burn.

"Payback!" After a brutal punch, Jellicent was already finished.

"Jellicent is unable to battle!" the referee announced.

_That was easier than I thought._ Ash's confidence grew.

"Well done," Shauntal said, seemingly unimpressed. "I think you deserve to face my strongest pokémon. Go, Chandelure! Use flamethrower!"

"Dodge it and use faint attack!" He managed to hit it but got trapped by a fire spin before he could do anything else.

"Fire blast!" The attack was quick and brutal, knocking him out without a chance of preventing it.

"Scrafty is unable to battle!" Ash looked at him, shocked. He didn't expect Chandelure's attacks to have so much power.

"Well done. Take a rest now." He readied his next pokéball. "Krokorok, I choose you! Use earthquake!" Although it was a direct hit, Chandelure didn't even flinch.

"Will-o-wisp!" As it released a whole bunch of small flames and even controlled them with psychic there was no way it could miss. Despite Krokorok's best efforts to evade them, one of the flames finally hit him, causing a burn. "Now flamethrower!"

"Use payback!" He dodged the stream of fire and got close enough to attack but instead of hitting Chandelure, he used crunch, biting the center of its body. After he dealt a lot of damage, he had to let go due to it using fire spin.

"Flamethrower!" This time, the attack hit him directly, nearly finishing him off with one hit. He struggled but still stood proudly. "Wow, it's tough. Once more!" Before it could do that, though, Krokorok glowed white, starting to evolve. When it was over, Krookodile was standing there with new energy to fight.

"You evolved!" Ash shouted excitedly. "Now we can …" before he could finish the sentence, a fire blast knocked out his pokémon. "What?"

"Krookodile is unable to battle!" Ash looked at his fallen pokémon in shock.

"Don't get distracted. It's common courtesy to not attack pokémon while they're evolving but when it's done you have to be ready," Shauntal told him with a frown.

"Alright, my mistake," he admitted. "Thank you, Krookodile. Noctowl, I choose you! Use extrasensory!"

"Flamethrower!" The fire move quickly overpowered Noctowl's extrasensory but she dodged it before it could hit her. "Psychic!" She stopped in midair. "Now fire blast!" However, she broke free of its control and countered with air slash, which hurt it quite a bit.

"Incredible! It's so tough. Use hypnosis! Then sky attack!" Her eyes glowed red and she shot red rings at it.

"Flamethrower!" The rings got destroyed but Noctowl dodged it again and used the time to charge up sky attack. Chandelure used psychic again to slow her down so that the attack didn't do a lot of damage. Then it shot a powerful fire blast straight at her face, knocking her out with one shot.

"Noctowl is unable to battle!" the referee shouted.

"So strong …," he mumbled. "Good job, Noctowl. Pikachu, it's your turn!"

_Five minutes are over_, he thought after looking at the display. _She should have won her battle. Maybe she's already watching me now. And I have already lost three pokémon. I have to do much better now._

* * *

><p>Dawn was wondering whether Ash's battle has already started. But she would see it soon anyway. Just five more minutes.<p>

"Empoleon, Salamence! Go!" Kenny exclaimed. She wondered when he got a salamence but then she remembered that Looker had given him a shellgon.

"Scizor, Milotic! Spotlight! Use hidden power and ice beam!" Milotic shot a small ice beam at Scizor, whose left pincer 'ate' it, making it glow blue. He did the same to the big hidden power orb with his right pincer, which sparkled with energy now.

"Whirlpool and dragon pulse!" The dragon move turned the water turquoise and also made the whirlpool spin a lot faster. Then it came straight for Dawn's pokémon.

"Bullet punch! Reflect!" Scizor quickly hit it with his left pincer, causing it to freeze completely while Milotic was using the defensive move. "Now agility and hit them!" He jumped over the icy remains, hitting Salamence with his left and Empoleon with his right pincer before retreating near the ice.

"Metal claw! Salamence, use dragon dance!" While the dragon type was powering up itself, Empoleon tried to hit Scizor unsuccessfully due to his speed, hitting and smashing the ice instead. "Dragon rush!"

"Iron defense!" Although the damage was low, the force of the attack pushed him back quite a bit. "Twister!" Milotic spun her tailfins like a fan, creating a tornado, which blew the ice pieces at Salamence and Empoleon. In addition, Scizor rode the wind, hitting Empoleon with full force.

"Use dragon rush on Milotic!" While Empoleon was attacking Scizor with metal claw and drill peck, Salamence flew up high to charge straight at Milotic.

"Twister!" The tornado slowed it down considerably so that the damage was pretty low. Reflect helped to lower it even more. "Wrap!" She wrapped her body around it, holding it right in front of her face.

"Dragon pulse!" Both coordinators shouted at the same time. When the orbs met, a terrible explosion occurred which sent both of them flying far away. Scizor felt that something heavy fell to the ground behind him so he stepped to the side when Empoleon launched another metal claw attack. Unfortunately for the water type, it was Salamence who got hit instead.

"Fire fang!" Kenny commanded. The dragon type quickly recovered and tried to bite Scizor, who dodged it although he had some troubles.

"Ice beam!" Milotic froze the ground Salamence was standing on, causing it to slip. Scizor absorbed the next beam with his pincers, punching Kenny's pokémon hard right after.

"Hydro pump!" The powerful stream pushed the bug type back before it followed up with drill peck, hurting him even more. "Dragon rush!"

"Twister!" Although she didn't hit Salamence this time, she at least pushed back Empoleon so that Scizor could recover a bit. The hit from the dragon rush was powerful, dealing quite a bit of damage.

"Dragon claw!" It tried to follow up with its claws but Milotic blocked them with iron tail.

"Use hypnosis and twister!" She shot a glowing symbol at it, increasing its speed with twister but Salamence just flew up so it hit Empoleon instead. Kenny's pokémon fell asleep instantly.

"Thunder fang!" Before it could attack, something landed on its back. And, judging from the heavy punch it received, it had to be Scizor. This gave Milotic enough time to push it back with another twister. "Shake it off!" It tried everything it could think of to get rid of the bug type while Milotic was shooting ice beams at it. She wasn't successful either, only creating giant icicles on the ceiling. Soon Empoleon woke up again. "Hydro blast!" I charged an orb of water, aiming at Scizor. Salamence flew nearby, trying to give a better view on him.

"Stop it and use rock smash! Milotic, dragon pulse!" He jumped off, eating the orb with his pincers before Emoleon could use it. Its power made his next punch much stronger, sending Kenny's pokémon flying. Milotic's dragon pulse hit the ceiling, causing the icicles to fall down. Whereas Scizor and Empoleon had little trouble with them due to their steel type moves and resistances, Salamence was struggling to keep them away with flamethrower. In addition to those falling down on it, Milotic was deflecting others at it by using twister. It managed to shoot a dragon pulse at her, though, which dealt some damage. However, it was nothing compared to the damage it received from the icicles hitting it.

Kenny looked at the display. There was only one minute left and Dawn had more points right now. He had to do something and he had to do it quickly.

"Dragon pulse! Empoleon, use hydro pump on it!" The water move greatly increased the orb's speed.

"Light screen and bullet punch!" Scizor deflected the orb but got hit by the hydro pump althoughthe damage was reduced by the light screen. Suddenly, Salamence charged straight at Milotic with dragon rush. She could only try to block it with iron tail. It quickly overpowered her, though, sending her flying. "Superpower!" Before it could use another attack on her, Dawn's other pokémon grabbed its tail with both pincers and smashed it right into the ground in front of Milotic, who wrapped her tail around its neck, holding her face in front of it. "Hypnosis!"

"Dragon pulse!" However, the water type was faster and since it couldn't dodge now, the glowing symbol hit its forehead, causing it to fall asleep. Then Empoleon flew right at her with high speed, spinning like a drill. Fortunately for her, Scizor got in the way just in time and blocked with iron defense.

"Use hidden power!" Dozens of small orbs started to surround Dawn's pokémon, creating an electric shield. Empoleon tried to use it against them by using water moves but Scizor wouldn't let that happen. After a few attempts the time was over with Dawn still having more points.

"And the first finalist is Dawn! Congratulations!" Marian announced.

"Well done, you two! You were like Milotic's knight in shining armor, Scizor," Dawn remarked, which annoyed Piplup a bit. He wanted to be the one to protect her.

"You did your best," Kenny said, recalling his pokémon before going to his rival and shaking hands. "It's still not fun losing but it's so much better to at least lose in the battle rounds. Anyway, you did a good job."

"You weren't bad either. But now I have something to do." She called out Espeon.

"You want to watch his battle?" he asked with a hint of annoyance in his voice.

"Sure! I hope I didn't miss too much. See you later! Espeon, take us to our room!" After a bright flash they were gone.

They reappeared in her room, where she quickly turned on the TV and she didn't like what she saw. Ash has already lost three pokémon whereas Shauntal was still using her second. Pikachu was currently battling Chandelure, hitting it with a powerful thunderbolt.

"Yes! Knock it out, Pikachu!" she shouted at the television.

"Use electro ball! Then volt tackle!" Ash commanded. Pikachu charged at his opponent immediately after shooting the electro ball at it. "Quick attack!" He used the move to close the distance faster and to dodge his own attack, which was used against him with psychic.

"Protect!" However, Pikachu was faster, attacking it with his combination of volt tackle and iron tail and smashing it into the ground. To Ash's surprise it got up again. "Fire blast!"

"Thunderbolt!" This attack, which hit before it could use fire blast since it was already weak and slow, finally finished the ghost type off. It fell to the ground but didn't rise this time.

"Chandelure is unable to battle!" Dawn let out a squeal when she heard that.

"Not bad. Not bad at all," Shauntal said. "Good job, Chandelure. Let's whether you can handle Cofagrigus!"

_Good. Her strongest pokémon is out of the way, _Ash thought_. And Dawn's probably watching this right now. Why … why am I thinking about that now? This isn't the right time! Alright, Pikachu took some damage from a shadow ball but he should be fine. I still think I'll recall him. I need him later._

"Return for now, buddy. You were awesome. Torkoal, I choose you! Use flamethrower!" The fire hit Cofagrigus directly but didn't seem to do any damage. "Again!"

"Psychic!" It deflected the attack before creating four shadow balls in its hands. "Telekinesis!" Torkoal got surrounded by a green aura and started to float above the ground. "Shadow ball!"

"Iron defense!" The shadow balls still dealt a lot of damage.

"Disable!" A blue aura surrounded him for a second, disabling iron defense. "Now shadow ball again!"

"Overheat!" A powerful blast of fire shot right at the ghost type who managed to its move before it got hit. It was very tough, taking the damage without even flinching. Torkoal, on the other hand, was knocked out instantly by four shadow balls.

"Torkoal is unable to battle!" the referee shouted.

"You were great. Take a rest now. Glalie, I choose you! Start with ice beam!" Cofagrigus got encased in a block of ice but immediately broke free.

"Disable!" It disabled the ice beam. Then it followed up with four more shadow balls.

"Gyro ball!" Glalie easily evaded them and smashed into the ghost type. Once more it created shadow balls in its hands, attempting to shoot them at the ice type from close distance. "Again!" Glalie spun rapidly, deflecting the attack, which resulted in Cofagrigus getting hit by its own shadow balls.

"Psychic!" It smashed him into the ground, where he was attacked by even more shadow balls. He tried to use gyro ball again but the psychic move was too strong. A few attacks later, he was finished.

"Glalie is unable to battle!" Ash gritted his teeth. Only Pikachu was left and she still had three other pokémon left. It seemed like he couldn't win this.

Dawn was having similar thoughts. After all, this wasn't a normal trainer but an Elite Four member. She had a lot of confidence in his abilities but this seemed impossible. Still, it didn't stop her from hoping for a miracle.

"You were awesome, Glalie," he mumbled, recalling the ice type. "Pikachu, it's all up to you now! Use Electro ball and thunderbolt!" He created an electro ball at the tip of his tail and used thunderbolt on it to increase its size and power.

"Destiny bond!" It was too slow, though. Before it could finish the move, the electro ball knocked it out almost instantly.

"Cofagrigus is unable to battle!" Shauntal was surprised.

"That was unexpected. Good job. Ash, you defeated three of my pokémon in your first battle against me. That's very impressive. But it's over now. You won't defeat Golurk. Go!" The automaton pokémon was huge compared to Pikachu. "Use earthquake!"

"Dodge it and use iron tail!" There was no other choice as Golurk was immune to electric moves. Pikachu hit it several times, without doing a lot of damage.

"I admire your determination. Shadow punch!" Ash's pokémon couldn't dodge this move so he was sent flying. "Earthquake!" The shockwave hit him, nearly knocking him out. But he got up again, ready to continue the fight.

"Iron tail!" While he was charging at his opponent he collapsed from exhaustion. Once more he got up despite all the pain.

"Finish it with shadow punch!" He tried to attack it when it was close enough but didn't have enough energy left. Instead, he got hit by another shadow punch, which sent him flying next to Ash. He tried to get up again with all the strength he had left. But it was no use.

"Pikachu is unable to battle! Victory goes to Chauntal!" Ash kneeled next to his pokémon.

"You were simply amazing. Don't feel bad. We'll defeat her next time." He was approached by Shauntal.

"You are a very talented trainer. I'm sure you'll become stronger and then we'll battle again," she told him. "Until then, work hard. Good luck!"

He managed a weak smile but Dawn saw that it was fake.

_He looks so disappointed_, she thought_. I'm sure he had bigger plans than to lose his first battle and only knocking out three of her pokémon. I wish I could just go to him now and give him a big hug. The least I can do right now is to call him. Yes, I should do that. _

She quickly went to her videophone and called him although he wasn't even at the pokémon center yet.

Meanwhile, Ash was going there with Iris and Cilan following him.

"What are …" Iris started.

"I know, that was lousy. Are you going to tease me for the rest of the day now?" he retorted.

"Ash! We are your friends! We wouldn't do that!" she replied angrily. "I understand that you are mad but you don't have to take it out on us!"

"I'm sorry." He sighed. "It was just … I hoped to do so much better. And after the good start it …"

"You don't need to explain. We know how you feel." But this made Ash even angrier.

"No, you don't!" he snapped back. "You don't know how it feels to always try and lose in the league. And once I finally won it, I failed to defeat even one Elite Four member, not even knocking out four of her pokémon."

"Ash, we're just trying to help you dealing with your disappointment," Cilan explained.

"Well, you're doing a lousy job." They couldn't believe what they heard. This was so unlike him.

When they entered the pokémon center, nurse Joy told Ash that he got a call from Sinnoh. Reluctantly, he went to the videophone and dialed Dawn's number.

"It's normal to lose on the first try." Cilan tried it once more. "I'm sure she told you that."

"She did but maybe she just pitied me," Ash replied bitterly. "I failed miserably."

"Maybe you should sleep over it before you talk to her again." He could only imagine what would happen if Ash snapped at Dawn the same way he did at them.

"Don't tell me what to do! It's just a little call, nothing special." But he wasn't convinced.

"So what are you going to do? Yell at her? After everything she's done for you?" Iris asked.

"Done for me?" Ash's voice was dangerously low. Slowly he turned to her. "What has she done for me?"

"Well, she stayed for the league despite the grand festival. She helped you with your training whenever she could. And now she's probably horribly disappointed that you didn't win. You …" Cilan pulled her away as Ash looked like he was about to burst.

Just then, Dawn's face appeared on the screen. Before she could say anything, though, Ash yelled at Iris.

"You know what? She did more harm than good!" Cilan and Iris begged him to stop but he wouldn't listen now. "And everyone wants me to be together with her. Just after they did the same with Misty. Why is it such a big deal? Why does everyone want me to date someone? Maybe I just want to be alone? Because of her I entered that stupid Wallace Cup! Because of her I couldn't think straightly! She was just a distraction! Maybe if she hadn't been there I would have won the Sinnoh league. Maybe it would have been better if I never met her!" He sighed and was about to apologize for his outburst.

"I-I see, Ash …" Dawn's voice caused him to freeze instantly.

He hoped she would be angry at him. They would have an argument but they had them before. There weren't a lot of them but they always quickly apologized. However, she wasn't angry. It was far worse. When he turned around he saw that she was smiling. You had to be blind not to see that it was fake.

"I … understand. I'm sorry and I won't … bother you anymore," she said with a trembling voice.

"No, Dawn! I didn't mean it! I was …" She hung up before he could finish the sentence.

He tried to call her again about a dozen times. She simply ignored it, though, crying all the time instead with Piplup, Espeon, Buneary and Lucario trying to comfort her.

_So I held him back, after all. If he had only told me earlier… What should I do now? I don't really want to battle right now. But … maybe it will distract me, at least for a while. Yes, that's probably the best idea. Oh, Ash. I'm so sorry._

Meanwhile, Ash's fury has been replaced by shame and regret. And to make things worse, he didn't even get a chance to explain as Dawn ignored his calls.

"Damn it! Why did it have to happen? Why am I so stupid?" he yelled. "So many lies ... she must think I'm a monster."

"Stop it! Yelling won't help you now," Cilan tried to calm him down. "You have to talk to her. And if she won't answer your call, you have to talk to her personally."

"You're right! I have to go to Hoenn. Wait, she'll be in Sinnoh after the grand festival so that's my destination." He remembered the other things he said. "I'm sorry for yelling at you. There's no excuse for that."

"It's alright, Ash. You're still a kid, after all." For the first time, he had to agree with her. "But maybe you should look whether she made it to the final first?"

"Yes, the battle starts in an hour. Let's have a look." They quickly went to their room and turned on the TV.

Dawn was going to the contest hall, where she met Zoey and Kenny.

"There you are! Ursula is your last opponent. It's …" Then Kenny noticed her bloodshot eyes. "Were you crying?"

"Isn't it obvious?" Zoey answered, rolling her eyes. "What happened? Is it about Ash?"

This just caused her to cry again. It took them some time to calm her down again.

"Yes …" she replied weakly. "He lost … badly. He complained how I … distracted him all the time. And he …" Tears formed in her eyes again. "He said that it would have been better if he … had never met me."

"What?" Zoey could hardly believe it. "Let me talk to him. I'm sure you he didn't mean it. And if he did, I'll beat some sense into him."

"It's alright … I …" She got interrupted by a familiar voice.

"He said such things to you? I didn't think he was that kind of guy." They turned around to see Ursula standing there with a frown. "I always thought he liked you too much to admit how much of a distraction you are."

"Leave her alone! She doesn't need you to make everything worse," Kenny yelled.

"Leave it to me," Dawn told him before turning to Ursula. "Don't you dare speak of him again!"

"Or what? Just admit. He wasn't as great as you thought," Ursula replied defiantly.

"That's enough!" she snapped. "I'm glad to have you as my opponent at the final. Prepare to lose!"

"You don't frighten me. Anyway, I'll see you later." Ursula was surprised at how a minor insult enraged her and was hoping that this event would make the battle easier for her.

"Let's go," Dawn mumbled.

About one hour of waiting later, the battle finally started. Ash saw her eyes, feeling a surge of guilt running through his body. She didn't look sad but furious. He could only guess that she was angry at him. Little did he know that she was angry at Ursula right now.

"Welcome to the last battle of this year's Hoenn Grand Festival! The competing coordinators are Dawn and Ursula! Enjoy!" They readied their pokéballs.

"My two friends here are still angry because of their loss at the last grand festival. But it will be different this time. Go, Flareon and Garchomp!" Ursula exclaimed.

"Typhlosion, Gengar! Go!" Her pokémon looked at the coordinator, surprised about what she said and the way she said it. Her expression made even Gengar's grin vanish. Since she was looking at Ursula, they could only guess that her rival did something horrible. For this battle, they decided to ignore their differences and just work together to win it. "Start the shadow fire!" Typhlosion used a combination of flamethrower and smokescreen, creating a wall of fire, which emitted an unnaturally high amount of thick, black smoke.

"Sandstorm! Flareon, use shadow ball!" As it didn't know where its opponents were, it just shot them randomly at the wall of fire. Meanwhile, Garchomp was preparing the sandstorm, which would put out the fire.

"Sludge bomb! Typhlosion, cancel it once it's ready!" When the sludge bombs passed the wall, they started to glow red and didn't explode upon making contact with the floor. Instead, they just stayed there, waiting for someone to step on them. Then Gengar flew into the cloud of smoke above the stage where she was nearly invisible. Typhlosion canceled the sandstorm before it could do any harm to the fire.

"Earthquake!" The powerful shockwave did nothing to the fire or Typhlosion as he jumped up after receiving a warning from Gengar.

"Disable and burning rollout!" The ghost type stopped Garchomp from using earthquake again for a while. The fire type used flame wheel and dug into the ground where he charged up his next attack.

"Use dragon pulse and shadow ball!" Ursula had noticed that Gengar was in the cloud but since her pokémon would have a lot of trouble breathing there, she wanted them to attack her from the distance.

"Use double team! Then scary face!" Several faces kept appearing in the cloud, no matter how many they shot. Suddenly they got bigger, turning into demonic visages, which scared Ursula's pokémon.

"That's my combination! I did the same with sandstorm!" Ursula yelled. "Flareon, get in the fire! Garchomp, use dig!" She was hoping that Flareon's flash fire would increase its power.

"Telekinesis and will-o-wisp!" Before it could reach the fire, Typhlosion burst through the ground, knocking it into one of the sludge bombs, which exploded and poisoned it. Then he proceeded to push her into others while using rollout. Garchomp was levitating and got hit by a will-o-wisp, which had absorbed some of the flame's energy, right below the neck. There it not only caused a burn but also started to emit smoke, clouding Garchomp's view.

"Dragon rush!" She charged right at Typhlosion, who dug into the ground again.

"Icy wind!" The wind also blew a lot of smoke into the dragon type's face. Then Typhlosion got out of the ground right behind her and attacked with focus punch.

"Dragon claw!" Although she managed to block the attack, her own attacks missed him due to the smoke from the will-o-wisp. Flareon had absorbed the fire's energy and shot a shadow ball at Typhlosion, who simply retreated into the ground again. It got hit by Gengar's hex attack in return. "Garchom, use dig. Flareon, follow her! Use shadow barrage!"

"Earthquake!" Typhlosion shook the ground, forcing his opponents to get out again.

Ursula was already desperate. Not only were her pokémon suffering from status alignments but the smoke just wouldn't go away. Typhlosion couldn't be reached without earthquake right now. Unbeknownst to her, he was already waiting for further instructions behind the wall of fire. And Gengar was nearly impossible to hit in that giant cloud of smoke. Dawn's commands were only based on Ursula's since she couldn't see anything on the other side of the wall. Therefore, her pokémon often had to act without her commands and they used this freedom to its fullest. But there was something else. Dawn was behaving very differently. Her style was much more efficient. In addition, only two more minutes were left and Ursula had lost much more points so far.

"Create an illusion with psychic! Typhlosion, use flamethrower" Gengar gathered most of the smoke with psychic to form it into a much larger version of her own body. With a scary face and the flamethrower illuminating it from within, it made a frightening illusion. Then she simulated a shadow punch, which didn't do any damage but covered the whole stage with smoke, making breathing difficult for Ursula's pokémon. Dawn waited for her to make the next move.

"Use dragon rush on Gengar!" Finally, the will-o-wisp stopped emitting smoke. She charged right into the cloud but, of course, didn't hit the ghost type. Instead, she was slammed into the ground on the other side with psychic, where she was met by Typhlosion's focus punch. "Shadow ball!" Gengar's glowing eyes during the psychic move revealed her location to Flareon who shot a large shadow ball at her but since she was too far away and very fast, she had no trouble dodging it and hiding in the smoke again.

One more minute was left.

"Get back here!" Ursula had no idea what Garchomp was doing as Dawn only gave commands when she wanted a certain combination and left the rest to her pokémon. Nearly ten seconds later, the dragon type jumped through the fire before a powerful flamethrower hit her in the back. Then Gengar pushed her right back with psychic. "Alright, just stay there and use dragon claw!" Ursula shouted. However, she didn't see that Typhlosion had dug into the ground again. He jumped out just behind Flareon again, attacking her with rollout.

For the rest of battle he kept doing that, escaping to the other side as soon as he got attacked by two pokémon at once. Ursula also learned that dig was very valuable to avoid the wall of fire but it didn't help to catch the elusive fire type or to avoid Gengar's attacks. Nothing special happened until a signal ended the battle.

"It's over. The winner and therefore new top coordinator is, what a surprise, Dawn! Congratulations!" The audience cheered but Dawn didn't really listen.

"Well done, you two. I knew you could work together perfectly." They pushed her towards Mr. Contesta, who was already waiting with the ribbon cup.

Ursula silently recalled her pokémon and sneaked away.

"Well done. After your second place at the SInnoh Grand Festival it was only a matter of time. Congratulations! Enjoy your new title and trophy," he told her.

"Thank you." She raised the trophy and waved to the crowd, smiling brightly. Or so it seemed. But Ash saw that she was very sad despite her victory.

"Look at her," he said to Iris and Cilan. "She has just become a top coordinator. She has just fulfilled a dream. Wouldn't you expect her to be much more happy? Especially considering her cheerful nature. And that battle ... so much different from her usual style."

They looked at her and couldn't help but agree with him. When Ash won the league, she went berserk. But here, she only waved at the people weakly.

"I have to talk to her. As soon as possible." He stood up and looked at his friends. "What are you going to do now?"

"I'm sorry, Ash. There are still a lot of things I have to do in Unova," Iris told him.

"Same here," Cilan replied. "But I will accompany you to Castelia City if you want me to."

"Yeah, me too," Iris agreed.

"Thank you, guys. So let's go!" Ash shouted.

"What? Now?" Iris asked.

"Of course! As I've said, I want to get there as soon as possible." In moments like this he was mad at himself for not having a psychic type with teleport. "Wait for me, Dawn," he mumbled.

Dawn had simply teleported to her room to avoid journalists since she wasn't too keen on talking about her victory right now. So she also ignored the calls she received or told them that she didn't want to talk at the moment. Soon after, Kenny and Zoey were knocking on the door.

"Come on, Dawn!" Kenny shouted. "Just open the door. Why don't you want to talk to us?"

"Why don't you just leave me alone?" she replied.

"What's wrong with you? Is it because of Ash?" Zoey asked.

There was no answer. They just kept knocking on the door. When they realized that she wouldn't answer, Kenny went outside to throw pebble stones at her window. After a while she had enough and opened it.

"Just go away!" she yelled. "Can't you see that I want to be left alone?"

"I'll go away after a nice, long talk," he told her. "You just won the Hoenn Grand Festival. Forget about Ash. You should be happy."

"Happy? After I learned that I ruined the life of the boy I love? You can't be serious!" He couldn't believe that she just admitted that she loved him.

"Aren't you even a bit happy?" She went into her room and returned with the ribbon cup.

"Happy about this stupid piece of metal? You know what? I don't care about it right now. If I can't be with Ash, I don't care about anything! You like the ribbon cup? Here, take it!" She threw it on the ground and since her room was on the third floor, it shattered upon impact. Then she closed the window and went back to her bed, crying into her pillow.

Kenny didn't know what else to say. She had just destroyed her own ribbon cup. Zoey soon joined him and together they picked up the pieces. They decided to talk to her after a good night's sleep.

During the night, Dawn went to her window to get some fresh air. It was cold but she didn't mind.

_It's so strange. I always wanted to become a top coordinator and now that I am one, I feel nothing. Just why did I have to hear him? Maybe he was just angry and frustrated and didn't mean it? Who am I kidding … I always knew that I was holding him back. He was just too friendly to admit it. What am I going to do now? Coordinating? It would just remind me of him. I can't do that anymore. But what else can I do?_ She looked at the street below her. _It's a long way down. Maybe if I just … jumped? Would he miss me?_

Immediately, Lucario, sensing the negative feelings, came out of his pokéball and dragged her away from the window. Her other pokémon soon joined him, yelling at her angrily after she was next to her bed. She could understand their reaction even though the thought of suicide was only there for a second.

"I'm sorry," she said, starting to sob. "I can't go on like this."

Her pokémon stopped, trying to console her instead. She hugged them tightly and they fell asleep that way soon.

The next morning, she teleported to the harbor directly after paying and took the next ship back to Sinnoh. There she would decide what to do next.

Ash arrived at Castelia City a few days later. He had to wait one more day for the next ship to Sinnoh, though. It gave him time to spend some time with his pokémon again. Most of them were a bit angry at him when they heard what he did as during their training battles, they have developed quite a bond with Dawn.

Then it was time for something he knew all too well: Saying goodbye to his traveling companions.

"Well, I'm not really good at this," he admitted. "I just wanted to say that I had a lot of fun traveling with you."

"You're not the only one who's going to miss the travels," Iris told him. "I must say, your childish behaviour has been very amusing. But now go and win her back!"

"Yes, Ash," Cilan agreed with her. "She needs you now and you need her. And once you're back together, come and visit us here in Unova."

"You can count on that." He saw that the ship was about to leave. "I better go now. Good luck to both of you. We'll see each other again. Bye!"

"Do you think she will even listen to him?" Iris asked while they were watching him leaving Unova.

"Knowing her, she will probably try to apologize to him. But he'll find a way. I'm sure of it." The ship started to move a few minutes later.

The journey through Unova was over even though not the way Ash had hoped for. Now SInnoh was waiting for him again. And a challenge more difficult than any battle.

* * *

><p><strong>So it ended before it really started. But they'll meet each other again soon. Even though it's maybe not the way they expected.<strong>


	37. Chapter 37

**One shorter chapter until they meet again.  
><strong>

**Disclaimer: I don't own Pokémon or its characters.**

* * *

><p><span>Chapter 37: Hunting the Hunters down<span>

Dawn arrived in Sandgem Town soon, teleporting to Twinleaf Town as soon as possible. Johanna was surprised but also relieved to see her daughter at the entrance. Although Dawn left a message for Zoey and Kenny, who told her what happened, she was still very worried.

"Dawn!" She gave her a big hug. "I was so worried. You have to tell me everything."

"I guess it's no use pretending that everything's alright?" Dawn said with a weak smile. She couldn't fool her own mother and if there was anyone who could understand her, it was Johanna.

So Dawn told her everything. Everything about the grand festival. Everything about the league. Everything about Ash. A few long explanations and big hugs later, Dawn's mother spoke up again.

"My poor girl. I will speak to Ash. I'm sure he didn't really mean it." Dawn tried to stop her.

"No, Mom. I don't want to be a bother. I don't want to get in the way of his dreams," she said sadly.

"And so you just give up on him? That's not like you at all! I'll talk to him and if he doesn't feel bad about the things he said, he isn't the right one for you anyway. By the way, where is your ribbon cup?" she asked. "I have saved a nice place for it."

"Didn't they tell you? I destroyed it." Johanna was shocked.

"You destroyed it? Such a shame …" She had been hoping to place it next to her own. "Well, we can't change it now. I better make dinner now. You must be hungry."

Dawn kept mostly to herself for the next two days. Since Ash was on a ship right now, Johanna didn't manage to talk to him. One day, Zoey and Kenny were standing in front of her house. They gave her the remains of the ribbon cup before she led them into her daughter's room.

"What are you doing here?" Dawn asked.

"Bringing you the rest of your ribbon cup. And asking you what the hell you were thinking," Zoey answered.

"You should understand how much he means to me. So I can't stand the fact that I just stood in his way all the time. And if I just continue like that he'll hate me even more," she told them.

"But can't stay like this either. Several days have passed and you're still depressed. You have two choices. You either talk to him and finally make up again or you find something else to do. But you can't just stay here for the rest of your life." Dawn thought about it for a while.

"Come on. Smile again," Kenny said. "I even brought you a little present." He showed her a yellow and brown egg. "Take this. I'm sure you'll like it."

"I don't want it. Are you trying to gain my love with presents now?" Dawn asked.

"No, I just want to cheer you up a bit. Don't you even want to know what kind of egg it is?" He seemed a bit offended.

"I'm sorry. It's just that you usually go away when I need help. But I still can't accept it," she replied. "Maybe you're right. Maybe I should look for something else to do. There are so many things that need to be done. I just need a bit more time to think about it."

They proceeded to talk about their plans. Zoey wanted to compete in contests in Kanto whereas Kenny wanted to the same in Johto. Despite his pleadings she didn't accept the egg, which he revealed to be an abra egg. A bit later they left again but not without promising to visit her again. Johanna was glad that Dawn had good friends and was pleased with the changes she saw in Kenny's behavior. But there was still something missing.

The same day, while she was shopping, Dawn saw something interesting on TV. Something about the poachers.

"There have been even more reports of trainers getting attacked by a notorious pokémon hunter near Eterna Forest. So far, thirteen trainers have been robbed. We have one of the victims right here." Dawn's eyes widened. It was Leona. "Tell us, what happened?"

"Well, I wanted to catch another grass type for my team." It was hard for her to speak. "People warned me that there was a dangerous poacher in the forest but I thought that I could handle it. I was wrong. He ambushed me, distracting me with lots of golbat and haunter. There were simply too many of them. I tried to fight him but he just shot me with a strange cannon. When I woke up in the hospital, the doctors told me that I had been turned to stone. My pokémon were also gone, including my starter. I … I don't even want to think about the things that poacher does with them."

"I'm sorry to hear. Do you have anything else to say?" the interviewer asked.

"Don't underestimate those criminals. Don't think that you can beat them alone. Because you can't. They use dirty methods. I hope the police will take care of them and return the pokémon to their trainers," she replied.

"We all hope they do. We also have one of the Eterna City police officers who is in charge of hunting down the poachers, officer Derril." The face of him appeared on a screen next to the interviewer. "Officer, when are you going to catch the pokémon hunter and end the threat?"

"We can assure you, that we're trying our best but our numbers are low due to the Sinnoh Grand Festival and league needing special attention. But as soon as those events are over, we can turn our attention back to the local matters. Then it won't take long until we arrest the criminals." He continued to talk but Dawn stopped listening.

_Yeah, right,_ she thought. _They won't do anything unless someone presents them with the poachers directly. But … maybe I could do it? I have Lucario to sense danger and Espeon to teleport us to safety. Mom won't like it. But I mean, someone has to help her, right? And nobody else wants to try. Yes, that's a good idea. I will make him pay for everything he did to Leona! She will be reunited with her pokémon soon!_

She quickly wrote a note for her mother and called out Espeon to teleport her to Eterna City, from where she would enter the forest.

About one hour later, Johanna returned. She paled when she read the note Dawn left behind. It said that she wanted to hunt down a poacher that stole Leona's pokémon. Of course, she immediately called the police in Eterna City so that they could stop her daughter but they couldn't find her. So she assumed that Dawn had already entered the forest. A bit later Johanna received another call but it wasn't the police who called. It was Ash.

"Hello, Johanna," he greeted her a bit nervously. He didn't know what Dawn told her mother about the things he said. "Is Dawn at home?"

"Ash, you better hurry and come here. Dawn is trying to hunt down a poacher on her own. And I don't know whether she'll stop at that. You have to stop her," she told him.

"What? Is she crazy?" he yelled. "Oh, sorry. I'm just worried about her. Aren't you mad at me because of the lies I said about her?"

"Oh, don't think I'm not mad. Your words caused her a lot of pain. But her safety is more important now. And I fear that you're the only one who can persuade her to stop it. We will talk about your mistakes later." He nodded. At least he would get a chance to explain.

"But it will still take days until the ship arrives in Sinnoh. And how am I supposed to find her? She can teleport around the whole region and I can't." Johanna got an idea.

"Leave it to me. I think there is someone who can help you," she told him. "I have to call her now."

"No problem. We'll see each other again soon. Bye," he said.

"Bye, Ash." They hung up.

Hopefully he would get there soon.

Dawn had changed her pokémon before entering the forest. Apart from Piplup, Espeon and Lucarion she also took Metagross and Scizor, who were more motivated than any other pokémon to fight the pokémon hunters, and Gengar, who had a connection to the ghost types in the forest. The only pokémon she didn't call out at the beginning was Metagross since it was very heavy and would be too loud. After nothing happened for nearly an hour, Lucario suddenly signaled them to stop. He pointed at a nearby tree, which had something dark next to it. It turned out to be a hand, probably a haunter's but the interesting thing about it was a small device floating inside, which somehow changed its aura. They could only guess that it was a scout who was hiding in the tree.

"Can you destroy it?" Dawn asked Lucario, who nodded.

He shot an aura sphere at the hand, destroying the device without hurting the ghost type. Gengar called the confused Haunter after it left the tree. Although it didn't have any useful information, it agreed to help them against the poacher and his slaves. Dawn quickly realized that she would be completely lost without Lucario as most of the ghost types hiding in the trees were much harder to see but their aura revealed them to him. Not all of them joined her but too many of them wouldn't be good either.

They found a camp soon after and it was a horrible sight. Many petrified pokémon were standing there with heavy metal chests, which probably contained even more stolen pokéballs. But there was no poacher or pokémon guarding it. There was no doubt that he didn't expect anyone to get past his scouts. While Gengar was looking for him, Dawn's other pokémon got rid of the rest of the scouts in the surrounding area.

Then they set up an ambush. It took about half an hour until he finally returned to his camp, accompanied by a group of golbat, who were carrying three more petrified pokémon. He didn't seem to notice the absence of his scouts.

"Gravity!" Dawn whispered to Metagross, who was hiding next to her in a bush.

The gravity increased enormously all of sudden. The golbat fell to the ground instantly but the petrified pokémon were saved by Espeon's psychic move. An aura sphere destroyed the poacher's cannon.

"What the …" He was cut off by Scizor, who knocked him to the ground before he could reach his pokéball or other equipment, holding his pincers near his throat in a threatening manner. Piplup and Gengar defeated the rest of the golbat, destroying the devices that controlled them. It was almost too easy.

Slowly she walked over to him with her pokémon surrounding him now.

"Where are Leona's pokémon?" she asked.

"Do I look like I know the name of every single person I rob?" he retorted.

"Fine! The police will find it out eventually." She took out her mobile phone and proceeded to call the Eterna City police.

"No! Don't do it! I'm sure we can come to an agreement. You want money? Or how about pokémon? I have a lot in this camp. Why don't you take one or two of them and forget about all of this?" he begged her.

"Forget it! I will end your career as a miserable thief here and now," she told him coldly.

"Alright! Do it! But this isn't over! I have powerful friends, who won't be happy about this! They will get me out of prison and then you'll pay for this!" he threatened her.

"I'm going to take that risk," she replied, unimpressed.

So she called the police despite his threats. It took them quite a lot of time but in the end they found the camp thanks to Espeon's signal beam. Before they could thank her, she left the camp with teleport as she didn't really want to talk to them at that moment. She reappeared near Eterna City.

_That was easier than expected. Actually, that guy was a real weakling. Without his equipment he probably wouldn't have been able to defeat even one of those trainers. Leona should get her pokémon back soon_. She thought about it a bit longer. _Maybe I should defeat the others as well? There are many more trainers whose pokémon have been stolen and the police certainly won't be able to help them. But I can! I can help those people and gain a new purpose. Alright, let's look for them! _

So she started to hunt the pokémon hunters down, one after another. Most of them didn't even get to use one pokémon but a few days later she noticed that one of them looked much better prepared than the others. In fact, it looked like he was trying to ambush her but Lucario didn't fail her. Instead, he got ambushed himself, when he went to find out why the scouts haven't returned. With her pokemons' help she always stayed one step ahead of the poachers.

The next day, Ash finally arrived at Sandgem Town, where he met Zoey at the harbor.

"You are the one Johanna was talking about?" He received a slap to the cheek. "Hey, what was that for?"

"That was for everything you said. Do you have any idea how hurt she is? She even destroyed her own ribbon cup! What were you thinking?" she asked.

"Well, I wasn't really thinking at that time," he answered truthfully. "And I came here to apologize."

"And are you finally going to admit that you love her?" This caught him off guard.

"How did you …? But yes, I think I do," he admitted.

"Promise me that you'll tell her!" she demanded.

"Fine! I was going to do it anyway. I think it's the only way to show her that I didn't mean those things I said. So where is she right now?" Zoey just shrugged.

"I have no idea. That's why we should talk to Johanna first. Gallade, come on out! Take us to Twinleaf Town!" Before Ash could protest, he was already taken to Dawn's hometown. What he saw there nearly gave him a heart attack, though.

Dawn's house was gone, instead there was just a smoking ruin with her and Johanna's possessions lying around the whole area. Actually, it looked like a bomb blew it up.

"No!" he screamed. He started to search for clues what happened, ignoring the crowd that had gathered in front of the ruins. He found remains of ribbons, ribbon cups and, most importantly, the hat he gave her as a birthday present. It was scorched badly. "Oh no. Please be alive …" he mumbled, tears forming in his eyes.

"Ash," Zoey said to him. She was just as pale as he was.

"Please tell me she's alive!" he yelled, grabbing her shoulders and shaking her.

"Calm down! I talked to the police. It appears that nobody was in the house when the bomb blew up." Words couldn't describe how relieved he was. So Dawn and Johanna were safe. He slowly sank to the ground.

"Thank god. I … I don't know what would have happened if they were dead," he told her. "Especially if it had been my fault or …"

"Stop it!" she shouted. "We have to find out what where they are. No time for that nonsense."

Suddenly they heard a voice in their heads. Someone spoke to them telepathically.

"Listen to me! I know where you can find the woman you know as Johanna. I'm a metang working for Looker from the international police. Please follow my instructions to meet him." They looked at each other.

"Did you also just hear that voice?" Ash asked. Zoey nodded. "Do you think we can trust it?"

"Looker used the same method to meet us the first time. I think we should try it," she replied.

A few seconds later it described a way into the forest where they soon found the metang along with an abra.

"Abra will teleport you to Looker's location," the voice told them.

They decided to trust it and let the psychic type teleport them to this location, which turned out to be a small house in Veilstone City. Metang showed them the way and soon they found Looker and Johanna inside one of the rooms.

"Ash, Zoey!" she shouted and hugged them. "I'm so glad you're here. You have to do something. There's something wrong with Dawn. She's hunting down every single poacher she can find."

"What? One is already enough," Ash exclaimed. "We have to do something."

"That won't be easy." Looker spoke up for the first time. "It's good to see you again but the situation is grave. Dawn's actions have drawn the attention of the leaders of the Galactic Hunters. They decided to get revenge so they tried to kill her family. Fortunately, they are very predictable so we took Johanna to safety. It didn't stop them from destroying her house, though."

"If they tried to kill Johanna, they will try to kill Dawn too!" Ash shouted.

"No doubt about that. The interesting thing is that she is acting unusually professional. She often changes her location, which makes her quite unpredictable. Unfortunately, she always leaves before the police can talk to her," Looker told them.

"We have to find her." Ash was extremely worried. "She's probably out there and needs our help."

"Finally!" The poacher sank into the seat in his camp next to Lake Verity.

He has just battled three trainers at the same time and won even though he lost a few of his pokémon slaves. But now it was time for a long rest. Suddenly, a pachirisu approached him.

"Get lost, little bugger," he yelled.

He didn't notice that a gyarados rose from the lake behind him. It shot a hyper beam at the pokémon guarding him, who were also attacked by an ice beam out of nowhere. The pachirisu used thunderbolt on his stone cannon, destroying it instantly. His pokéballs were moved out of his reach with psychic and caught by a buneary. Then a lucario knocked him to the ground, holding its bone rush staff right in front of his face. Finally, a blue haired girl approached him, a cold expression on her face.

"Your career is over. I have already called the police. They'll be here soon. Espeon, guide them!" The sun pokémon shot a signal beam into the sky.

"You're that brat! You know we will catch you one day?" he asked but she just shrugged.

"Maybe. But not today," she just answered.

Shortly before the police arrived, she recalled most of her pokémon and teleported to a random pokémon center. She changed her pokémon after each poacher so that all of them would have something to do. The only ones she always had with her were Piplup, Espeon and Lucario for obvious reasons.

Just when Looker was about to ask them to do something for him, another call interrupted him.

"It looks like she defeated another one," he told Ash, Zoey and Johanna after ending it.

"Why don't you have members of the police wait at all the pokémon centers?" Zoey asked. "She has to go there sooner or earlier."

"I'm afraid we just don't have the numbers to do that," he replied.

But that wasn't everything. One of the highest ranking members actually wanted Dawn to continue. That way, he would get credit for capturing the criminals and he could use Dawn as a bait. Once some higher ranking members of the Galactic Hunters tried to eliminate her, he would arrest them. But first, he had to find a way to follow her, which was difficult due to the teleports. Looker didn't agree with his methods but there was nothing offcial he could do and it made him nervous. He could send Ash and Zoey to look for Dawn, though.

"Listen, there is an area with an unusual high number of pokémon hunters. It's likely that she will attack them soon. You have to find her! I have a very bad feeling that something bad is going to happen." He showed them an area west of Pastoria City. "Abra will take you there."

"Alright, let's go immediately." Ash and Zoey went next to the pokémon. "If you're right, it's too dangerous to wait any longer."

"Be careful. We don't know whether she is there or whether you'll just meet poachers," he warned them.

"Please convince my girl to stop this," Johanna begged them.

"Don't worry. I promise you'll have her back soon," Ash said before Abra took them to their destination.

"Good luck, you two," Looker mumbled. "Now to contact Cynthia."

* * *

><p>Hawk was looking at recently stolen pokémon near Snowpoint City. There were a lot of starters as well as many common ones like starly or bidoof. He wondered why they even bothered capturing those but at least they would be good cannon fodder in the war against Team Rocket. He was about to finish when he got a call from the boss himself.<p>

"Yes, sir?" he asked.

"There is a high chance that the girl will appear west of Pastoria City next. I'm sure you'll have fun hunting her down. Viper is already on his way along with J and a couple of grunts," he told the commander. "The other idiots are already gone. They won't stand in your way."

"I understand. But why are we going after her now? I thought you said that she wasn't important?" Hawk pointed out although he was looking forward to it.

"I don't care about the idiots that got arrested if you mean that. But I'm worried about our reputation. Our customers and enemies are laughing about us because a little brat causes so much trouble. I want her dead as soon as possible. And failure is not an option. Two commanders should do the job just fine," the boss said. "And if they don't, they don't deserve to be commanders anymore. Do you understand?"

"Yes, sir!" He gulped.

"Very good. I trust that it won't be a problem for you. Don't disappoint me." He ended the call.

Hawk immediately called out Xatu, who teleported him to the area, where he soon met Viper and the others. They decided to split up with Viper going alone and the other accompanying Hawk. He hoped that Viper would get defeated, maybe even killed. Then Hawk would restore his organization's honour. Viper, on the other hand hoped to finish the task on his own to maybe receive some extra reward. Either way, Dawn was in big trouble as she really was in the area. The question was: Who would find her first? Ash, Zoey, Hawk or Viper?


	38. Chapter 38

**Disclaimer: I don't own Pokémon or its characters.**

* * *

><p><span>Chapter 38: Unexpected Help<span>

Dawn felt a bit strange. She has been walking through the area for nearly half an hour without encountering a single scout, which was highly unusual considering all the poachers who were supposed to be there. It really made her nervous and the swampy area didn't help calming her down. As usual, she had Piplup, Espeon and Lucario with her. Her other pokémon were Metagross, Froslass and Vibrava. She didn't notice a staraptor flying in the distance but it noticed her, returning to its trainer immediately after.

Ash and Zoey had split up to cover a larger area. He had sent out Staraptor to look for Dawn and now he returned, landing next to him.

"Did you find her? Where is she?" The flying type pointed in the direction where he found her. "Good job! Let's go!"

It took some time since Dawn was also on the move but in the end he found her. At least it was on a grassy field instead of in the middle of a swamp.

"Dawn!" She had already noticed him and didn't seem happy. "We have to get out of here! This is way too dangerous for you!"

"Ash? What are you doing here?" she asked. "You should go. It's too dangerous."

"Yes, I'll go. But not without you," he said.

"I'm not going with you. I still have many things to do. And being with me will only endanger you as well. I don't want them to target you too," she told him. "That's why I have to do this alone."

"Don't be so stubborn! You can't do this alone! They'll kill you sooner or later!" She shrugged.

"Maybe. But at least I can change something that way. I won't leave now," she told him confidently.

"Come on, Dawn. Be reasonable. They have already tried to kill Johanna and completely destroyed your house. What do you think they're going to do next?" he asked.

"They tried to kill Mom?" Her eyes widened. "They will pay for that. Even more reason for you to stay away. I can take care of myself."

"What can I do to convince you?" he asked.

"Nothing," she just answered. "Why are you even trying? You should be glad that I'm gone. You said it yourself."

"I didn't mean that. Those were all lies. I was mad at that time and didn't know what I was saying. Please understand it. I'm so sorry," he told her.

"You're sorry? For saying the truth?" Just as he suspected, she really believed it. "I always knew that I was little more than a bother to your dreams. You were just too nice to mention it. But I can't go on like this."

He had enough now. The time has come to tell her what he really felt. Maybe it was his last chance.

"You aren't a bother! In fact, I have become stronger because of you." She looked at him incredulously. "It's true. Your support made me stronger. Your battles inspired me. You motivated me to do my best. Hell, without you I would have had trouble beating Roark. You went further than all my other friends, cheering for me in your cute, little outfit and creating moves like the spin for me. There's no way you would ever hold me back! And because of that, your sweet and helpful personality and pretty much everything about you I … I …" Now it was getting just as difficult as he thought. He turned away, blushing heavily.

"You what?" she whispered.

"I … love you!" Her eyes widened even more. "I love you with all my heart. I fully realized it when I hurt you so much. It hurt me as well. I promise to never do it again. But please, come with me!"

"You … you're just trying to get me to follow you, aren't you?" Dawn could hardly believe that he would say all those things."No, I won't." His heart sank.

"Why? Don't you believe me?" he asked desperately.

"On the contrary. I don't want you to get hurt because … I kind of feel the same." She looked away, blushing. "I am already their target. You would be next if they found you here with me."

"Then just let's go home!" he suggested. "I'm sure Looker can hide you until they forget about the things you did."

"No way! Someone has to do something against those poachers and since nobody seems willing to do it, it's up to me. Do you really think the police are going to do anything? I've seen them. Their numbers are way too low," she told him.

"You're so stubborn… you know that? Well, how about a deal? I beat you in a battle and you come with me." He didn't like having a serious battle with her but he would do anything to get her back. "What do you say?"

"You won't leave until I agree, right? But if I win, you have to go without me. And I must warn you. I have become much stronger due to new training methods. It won't be easy for you." He nodded. It took quite a lot of persuasion but at least he had a chance now. "I accept no less than a full battle. Are you ready?"

"Ready!" Ash said. Pikachu, Sceptile, Dewott, Infernape, Krookodile and Staraptor were waiting.

"Metagross, go!" Ash had battled this pokémon before. It was one of her strongest.

"Infernape, I choose you!" Infernape didn't seem to like fighting against Dawn's pokémon like that but he trusted Ash.

"Use gravity!" The gravity in the area increased dramatically, making it hard for Ash to stand properly. Dawn, on the other hand, didn't seem to have any trouble. "Don't you find it difficult to stand like this?" he asked.

"I'm used to it. Metagross and most of my other pokémon always train under these conditions so it's no problem. You'll get used to it with time as well. But let's continue now. Earthquake!" A massive shockwave made its way towards the fire type.

"Dodge it and use flamethrower!" However, he couldn't jump high enough to evade the shockwave, which dealt quite a bit of damage. He used flamethrower nonetheless but Metagross quickly dodged it. Its enormous strength made it possible for it to pretty much ignore the effects of gravity although it couldn't use magnet rise like that. "Mach punch!"

"Psychic! Then zen headbutt!" Ash's pokémon was slower than usual so Metagross had no problem stopping him right before his attack could hit and follow up by hitting him with the glowing X on its body. "Use psyshock!" Infernape quickly got up, dodging the purple orb before hitting it with mach punch.

"Flamethrower!" But Metagross stopped him with psychic again.

"Zen headbutt and earthquake!" First it pushed him back. Then it followed up with another powerful shockwave. When he got up again, his eyes were red and the flames on his body intensified. "Blaze is already activated? Oh dear." She had to be very careful now.

"Use flame wheel!" He was much faster rolling instead of walking so he closed the distance before it could react. "Flare blitz!" With blaze, it dealt a massive amount of damage, pushing Metagross back quite a bit."Now flamethrower!"

"Protect! Then psychic!" The green shield protected it from the fire before it used psychic to stop his next attack. "Psyshock!" It was a direct hit, nearly finishing him. "Now earthquake!"

"Flame wheel!" Despite the faster movement, he couldn't dodge the shockwave, resulting in another direct hit and knocking him out. "Well done. Take a rest now." Ash recalled his first pokémon. "Not bad. Krookodile, I choose you!"

"Thank you. Return for now!" Dawn recalled the steel type. "Froslass, it's your turn! Use blizzard!"

"Earthquake!" The gravity made dodging impossible for both of them so they tried to end it quickly with powerful attacks. "Dig!" He dug a hole and jumped inside.

"Blizzard on the ground!" It resulted in Krookodile having a layer of ice to break through, receiving a bit of damage when doing that. "Ice beam!"

"Payback!" Both attacks hit, resulting in massive damage for both of them. But they could continue. "Use crunch!"

"Blizzard!" The crunch was a direct hit but the blizzard hit him in the face in return. Neither of them stood up again. "Poor Froslass. Thank you."

"Well done, Krookodile. Take a good rest." They sent out their next pokémon. "Go, Dewott!"

"Piplup, it's up to you now!" They called out the water types at the same time. The gravity move lost its effect and they could sense their pokémon's hesitation. "Please do this for me. Use hidden power and drill peck!"

"Use ice razor shell!" While Dewott was preparing his scalchops, Piplup launched himself at him, spinning like a drill and surrounded by two large hidden power orbs. "Throw them!" Piplup shot the orbs, which shattered the ice and sent the scalchops flying far away. The drill peck hit the surprised Dewott hard, dealing a lot of damage.

"You didn't think you could surprise us with that, did you? After all, we trained a lot with him," Dawn teased but got serious again soon. "Brick break!"

"Aqua jet!" He flew up, evading Piplup's attack before attacking him from above. "Use Revenge!" The attack was strong, sending Piplup flying far away. "Now get your scalchops back!"

"Grass knot!" Dewott tried to fly away with aqua jet, but grass knots tied around his feet, making it impossible. "Now drill peck!" It was another direct hit. "Now ice beam!"

"Use revenge again!" He dealt some damage before Piplup was pushed back by the force of the ice beam. "We know your combination," Ash told her with a grin. "Now rock smash!" He shattered the ice that encased part of his body.

"Grass knot!" This time, Dewott evaded it and finally got back at least one of his scalchops. "Hidden power and drill peck!"

"Razor shell!" Dewott blocked the drill peck but the following hidden power orbs broke his defenses. The following attack was too much for him. "You fought well. Return!" He recalled the fainted water type and readied his next pokéball.

_She's way stronger than I thought. Or is it because I haven't been training a lot for days now? My pokémon are probably completely out of shape. But how could I have known that something like this would happen? _He clenched his other fist_. I can't lose now. I have to get her back. I promised Johanna to bring her back._

"Sceptile, I choose you! Use agility!" His already great speed increased even more. "Finish him with leaf blade!"

"Ice beam!" Piplup tried to create a wall of ice in front of him but only created some spikes when he realized that Sceptile was too fast. The grass type hit him twice with his glowing forearms but not without taking damage from the ice spikes. Piplup stood up again but fainted right after. "Thank you, Piplup. Take a rest. Espeon, go!" She was a bit worried since Espeon hasn't gotten a lot of real battle experience lately. "Use psyshock!"

"Night slash!" Sceptile cleaved the purple orb before closing the distance quickly and attacking Espeon herself.

"Double team!" Dozens of copies appeared around him. "Psyshock again!" He tried to attack as many of them as possible but got hit by the real one several times. "Psychic!" She pushed him away, gaining some distance.

"Use leaf storm!" The attack dealt a lot of damage but it also weakened Sceptile.

"Morning sun!" Espeon's body started to glow when she used the move to regain her health.

"X-scissor!" He was still fast, much faster than Dawn thought, closing the distance quickly and interrupting Espeon's move.

"Teleport!" But she couldn't do it due to the strong attacks. "STOP!" Sceptile stopped and everyone looked at her. "You have defeated Espeon. I don't want her to get knocked out because she can teleport us to safety if necessary." Espeon stumbled back to her trainer. "I'm sorry. I have neglected your training a bit lately. We will train hard again soon. But for now, use morning sun to get back to full health. Sceptile is really strong and fast. But it's time for Lucario! Use extremespeed!" Before Ash could give a command, Lucario was already next to his pokémon. "Ice punch!"

"Detect!" The first punches hit but the rest was dodged. "Now leaf blade!"

"Detect!" Those attacks were dodged as well. "Ice punch!" Their moves met but Lucario soon overpowered Sceptile due to the type advantage. The grass type hit Lucario's right leg with leaf blade before he was knocked out by an ice punch to the face. All in all, Lucario appeared to be much more motivated to battle Ash's pokémon. He was angry at the trainer as he felt Dawn's pain stronger than her other pokémon.

"Well done. Let's see how well you can handle a flying type. Staraptor, I choose you! Use aerial ace!" Lucario had trouble with Staraptor's fast movements because of his leg injury.

"Vacuum wave!" He just didn't manage to hit Ash's pokémon. After he got hit several times in return, Ash was confident enough to attack him with stronger moves.

"Finish him with brave bird!" Staraptor's body burst into blue flames when he charged at the fighting type like a missile.

"Thunder punch!" To Ash's surprise, his pokémon couldn't break Lucario's defenses. "Again!"

"Close combat!" Both of them landed multiple hits until a thunder punch pushed Staraptor back quite a bit.

"Now aura sphere!" The blue orb hit him just as he was about to rise into the sky again, knocking him out.

"It seems you've trained a lot with him. Anyway, well done, Staraptor. Pikachu, it's up to you now." Ash saw that there was no way Lucario would win this. He could barely stand after Staraptor's powerful attacks. "Use thunderbolt!" He took the attack head on, fainting almost instantly.

"I'm proud of you," Dawn said, recalling him. "You have become much stronger. But now it's your turn, Vibrava! Use super sonic!" Pikachu dodged the sonic waves easily, though.

"Use iron tail!" He jumped up but Vibrava just flew up higher.

"Hidden power!" Pikachu used iron tail to reflect some orbs. Although they dealt massive damage to Vibrava, he got hit by the rest. "We better don't use that again. Sonic boom!" Pikachu spent the next minute dodging the attacks and looking for a chance to strike her down with iron tail. He used the chance when he got it even though it meant getting hit by a sonic boom as dodging it would have cost too much time. Pikachu hit her wings, causing her to fall to the ground, where she was helpless, fainting after a few more iron tails.

"Well done. That was better than expected. Metagross, it's all up to you now!" It was still damaged from the battle against Infernape but it had more than enough energy left. "Use earthquake and psychic!"

"Thunderbolt!" Pikachu hurt it baldy but didn't stop it from using earthquake. It also used psychic to maximize the amount of damage just as it had calculated and that turned out to be quite a lot.

Although both of them could continue, the trainers waited for the other one to make the next move. They focused too much on the battle so that they didn't hear something approaching Dawn rapidly. The pokémon noticed it, though, and Espeon jumped in front of it, stopping it but getting knocked out by a powerful crunch in the process. It was a drapion, who was trying to attack Dawn now. Before it could do that, Metagross took the attack and even though it was too much, the steel type still managed to use meteor mash once more, slamming Drapion to the ground with its weight. Ash quickly realized that this wasn't a coincidence.

"Dawn, get behind me! Quickly!" She did as she was told. Only a few seconds later, a nidoking jumped out of the ground behind them, attacking her with horn drill.

Pikachu tried to battle the ground type but was sent flying by a strength move. Ash was ready to take it when a steelix emerged from the ground in front of him, blocking the horn drill and crushing Nidoking with a single heavy slam.

"Damn it! What is that steelix doing?" A bald man had emerged from the hole with a seviper, ariados, venusaur and toxicroak. Dawn recognized the black uniform.

"It's my steelix!" Another man, who was behind the first one, shouted. "It's over, Viper. Just give up!"

"Bones?" Viper's eyes widened. "What the hell are you doing here, traitor?"

"I came here just for you. I haven't forgotten what you did to my friends among the captains." He turned to Ash and Dawn. "You there! Get out of here!"

He didn't have to tell them twice. Since they only had Pikachu left, they quickly ran away from the battle after Dawn recalled Espeon and Metagross. They have been running for several minutes when they finally collapsed from exhaustion.

"Who … was that?" Ash asked, still catching his breath.

"No … idea," Dawn replied. She hoped that Espeon would regain her consciousness soon. "I'm sorry … for getting you into trouble … like that."

"It's alright." He stood up, offering his hand. "I would never let you down. Especially in …"

"How sweet!" They looked up. A man wearing the same uniform as the first man said that. He was riding his staraptor but that wasn't what caught their attention. It was his face, which was full of ugly scars. Because of them, Dawn could hardly recognize him but soon she was sure that it was commander Hawk. "I have a surprise for you." A salamence landed on the ground next to them. A woman wearing a red and black uniform with short, silver hair, blue eyes and dark glasses was standing on its back.

"J! You are alive? What are you doing here?" Ash yelled, trying to shield Dawn with his body.

"Shut up and get out of the way! We're here for the girl, not for you!" she retorted.

"The boss wants you to do it. What are you waiting for?" Hawk asked her. She raised her arm, aiming at Dawn with her cannon.

"Get out of the way! You don't have to die!" Ash didn't move. "You … get out of the way! Now!"

"Just as I suspected. You're too weak for the job," Hawk remarked.

"You're hesitating way too much. Don't you remember me?" Ash asked.

"Huh?" She looked at him questioningly.

"You're not J! J would have remembered me! She would have remembered all the trouble I caused her! She would have shot me without a second thought. Who are you?" Hawk slapped his forehead.

"I always said that she was too weak for this job." He turned to Ash. "You're right. She's not J. J is dead. This is just a puppet we use to promote our little organization. The boss thought that we would get more customers if we had a legendary pokémon hunter like J in our organization. I don't know whether it worked but this one is pretty useless and weak. Anyway, now that you know about it, we have to kill you as well. Such a pity. Oh look!" The grunts also arrived. "About time. That happens if you don't have a proper flying type. I don't think we'll need them but …"

A strange sound distracted them. It was an orange orb that flew up high, exploding and creating dozens of smaller orange meteors, which crashed down on them. Staraptor managed to dodge them but Salamence was hit by several meteors. When it tried to stand up again, a garchomp knocked it out with dragon rush.

"You leave them alone!" A young, blonde woman in a black outfit, accompanied by Zoey yelled. A car, which was probably hers, was parked nearby.

"Cynthia?" Dawn exclaimed. "What are you doing here?"

The champion also called out Gastrodon, Spiritomb, Milotic, Togekiss and Lucario, who surrounded the young trainers.

"Looker attached a tracking device to Ash and Zoey. It allowed me to follow him and listen to everything he said so that we would know when Ash found you," she told them. "Zoey, protect them while I'm taking care of them!"

"Of course!" Zoey ran up to her friends. "Are you stupid to just battle there?" she yelled. "You not only made yourself quite vulnerable but you also lead them to your position with all the noise and flashes." The she also called out her pokémon.

"You're right. I was stupid," Ash admitted.

"You mean WE were stupid," Dawn corrected him. "Anyway, thank you for your help. We would have died without you."

"Thank us later. The battle isn't over yet." Even though most of the stone cannons were destroyed by psychic moves from Togekiss and Lucario there were still dozens of pokémon to take care of.

"Pikachu can still help." Ash saw that J, who had been knocked out by the draco meteor for a short time, rose again. "Thunderbolt on that cannon!" Pikachu shocked her, not only destroying the stone cannon but also the rest of her equipment.

* * *

><p>"It's over. Just give up!" Bones shouted.<p>

Drapion and Nidoking were unconscious. The rest of Viper's pokémon were lying on the ground, catching their breath whereas Bones' pokémon were mostly unharmed.

"You only won because you had a type advantage!" Viper yelled. "But it's not over yet," he added with a diabolical grin. He pressed a button on one of his devices, which made his conscious pokémon stand up again with red glowing eyes. All the pain and exhaustion were gone along with their free will.

"You piece of shit! You would use that on your own pokémon?" Bones was more than just furious.

"So what? If I have to do it to win, I'll do it. It's not like they'll remember anything after we're done here. It'll be my pleasure to slowly torture you to death. Just like I did with your friends." Viper hoped that provoking him would work.

"My friends? They didn't know anything about my decision! What did you do to them?" The commander just laughed.

"Of course they didn't know anything. But do you really think I cared? No! I even asked their pokémon. It's a shame they didn't know anything either." This only intensified Bones' hatred for the commander. "I would have done the same to Rose if Charon didn't think that we needed her. But enough of this. Kill the traitor!" Viper's pokémon charged right at the former commander, who knew exactly which moves were effective against the devices inside their bodies.

"Stop them! Claydol, use extrasensory on Seviper!" It shot a rainbow coloured beam at the poison type, pushing it back and destroying the device that controlled it. It looked around, confused about what just happened until it saw its fellow pokémon. Slowly it turned around, angry at its trainer for using that thing on him. Needless to say, it didn't like being controlled like that one bit.

"What are you doing? Attack him!" Instead of obeying, it charged at him. "What? Stop it!" The order only caused his other pokémon to cancel their attacks. Seviper, on the other hand, used poison tail on him, stabbing his chest. He tried to utter a curse but couldn't find the strength before he fell to the ground, dead.

"This was a better death than you deserved," Bones said with contempt clear in his voice. Claydol freed the rest of the pokémon, who crushed their pokéball and left the area, looking for a new home. "Let's see what those kids are doing."

* * *

><p>The battle was going well. Although they were outnumbered, Cynthia had no problem dealing with the grunts. Their pokémon were no match for Cynthia's. With powerful moves like stone edge, dragon rush and aura sphere they knocked out the opponents, one after another. Dawn had to admit that Cynthia's pokémon were way stronger than hers but she expected no less from the champion. Soon even some of Ash's and Dawn's pokémon like Espeon and Staraptor had regained consciousness, joining the fight as well after healing up. It was then that they let their guard down. Hawk managed to call out Ninjask, Crobat and Honckrow just behind them. Dawn saw that Ash was standing too far away from the others, thus being basically unprotected for the moment.<p>

"Kill him! Hyper beam!" Hawk yelled. "If we can't kill the bitch, we'll at least get rid of this nuisance."

"ASH! WATCH OUT!" Dawn screamed, running towards him.

Everyone else could just watch three hyper beams being shot at him at the same time.


	39. Chapter 39

**This chapter took a little longer since I had no time during the weekend so it probably feels a bit rushed. Not much action in this one but a lot of information. **

**Disclaimer: I don't own Pokémon or its characters.**

* * *

><p><span>Chapter 39: Hiding<span>

"ASH!" Dawn screamed. "Espeon, use light screen!"

The pokémon reacted quickly, creating a barrier for all the allies. Since Ash had no time to react, Dawn had to push him out of the way but at a high price. Her body took heavy damage from the three hyper beams even though they hit her side whereas Ash was only grazed. She was already unconscious before she even hit the ground.

"DAWN! NO!" Ash screamed. He quickly took her in his arms, checking her pulse. "She's still alive. But how much longer? Espeon, please teleport us to a hospital or at least to a big city," he begged her desperately, ignoring his own pain.

She nodded, running to him with their other pokémon before disappearing with a flash.

"Looks like we finished out job, after all," Hawk mumbled before the three pokémon who shot the hyper beams were defeated by Garchomp's stone edge. "Damn it, let's get out of here!" He tried to recall his fallen pokémon but Cynthia's togekiss got in the way so he decided to abandon them. "Xatu, come on out and use teleport! Skarmory, grab J and take her to safety!"

The grunts distracted Cynthia and Zoey enough to allow Hawk to escape and Skarmory to fly out of reach. Just when they thought that it was gone, a golden orb hit the flying type, causing it to shoot straight down to the ground. The unconscious J was saved by a psychic move.

Soon the rest of the grunts surrendered and J along with Skarmory was brought to Cynthia by Bones.

Meanwhile, Ash was running towards a room in the Veilstone Hospital while telling a doctor what exactly happened to Dawn. Next to him, she was lying on a stretcher. When they reached the emergency room, Ash had to wait outside even though he tried to convince the doctor to let him be with her.

"Stay strong!" he shouted after her. "I know you can do it! Please don't leave me!"

Then he had to wait along with Pikachu, Espeon and Piplup, who were just as worried as he was. A nurse urged him to get some treatment himself since his right arm was paralyzed now but he wanted to make sure that she would survive first. Although he didn't know how long it took, it felt like an eternity. Finally, an exhausted doctor left the emergency room.

"Is she alive? Will she be alright? Please tell me!" Ash immediately asked him.

"Calm down, she's alive and will stay that way." He and the pokémon let out a huge sigh of relief. "Her heart was close to failing and her lungs were nearly completely paralyzed by the time she reached the emergency room but she will pull through now. Considering the things we know about the effects of hyper beam on humans, she won't suffer from any permanent damage but we never had a case of anyone getting hit by three of them at once. Without light screen, she would have died for sure. But now she only has a broken arm and a few broken ribs."

"Thank you, doctor. She is very dear to me and I don't know what I would have done if …" He couldn't even finish the sentence.

"You can consider yourself lucky. She's a very brave girl. But she needs a lot of rest now as she'll be extremely weak for a few days. You can visit her but be gentle. I think it'll take at least one day until she wakes up. Ask the nurse where to find your friend later." Ash nodded. At least now he was sure that she was recovering.

Then he received some treatment himself, which didn't take long, though. It took a few more hours until he was told where she was. He was offered to stay there as long as he didn't disturb her sleep, which he gratefully accepted. Looker's abra teleported him to her room, which was inside an unknown building but he didn't care right now. Dawn was sleeping peacefully and if it wasn't for the bandages, nobody would have thought that she had nearly died a few hours ago. Johanna, who had been told about the events by Looker, soon joined him. Unsurprisingly, she looked terribly exhausted but they could only wait right now.

* * *

><p>"So tell me. What is your friend trying to do?" Looker asked Bones inside a small, dark room. Cynthia and several officers were also there. "We only know it's a large project but not what it actually is about."<p>

"She tries to improve pokémon by implementing strength increasing devices. I have no idea how far she is but I'm sure she'll be finished soon," he told them. "She was also the one to create the controlling devices which can be used inside the pokémon's body. I know it sounds horrible. But you have to understand, she's not a bad person."

"What do you mean? Are you just trying to protect her?" Cynthia asked.

"I guess I have to tell you about her past and Roserade. She only had her mother, who was always sick and could barely get enough money to allow Rose to go to the trainer school when she was young. Because of that she was often bullied by the other kids. Choosing an outsider as her first pokémon partner didn't help either. You see, the budew she chose was blind. She promised her pokémon that one day he would see the world and become the strongest roserade ever." Looker and the others didn't expect a long story like that but thought that it might help to understand her motivations.

"But why join a criminal organization? Why didn't she just become a normal scientist?" Bones sighed.

"The others always called her crazy because of her ideas. But that wasn't the reason. Her mother died so she couldn't go to that school anymore. However, she wasn't willing to give up Budew as they had developed a strong bond. So she ran away with him. He didn't want to lose his trainer, the only one who had ever believed in him. That day, their world changed completely. Soon members of Team Rocket found her. They were nice to her and impressed her with their stories. She should have never believed them but she was young and foolish. In fact, nobody has ever been that friendly to her so she gladly joined them. Years passed, Budew evolved. She became much stronger but the other members started to pick on Rose because she kept a blind roselia as her main pokémon." He looked away. "Once again, she lost everything when she left Team Rocket as she couldn't stand anyone doubting her pokémon. I can't blame her. I had similar experiences."

"And then she joined Team Galactic," Looker remarked.

"Exactly. Charon found her and offered her possibilities she couldn't refuse. They worked on the Red Chain Project, which is the basis of her current work. Well, you know what happened to Team Galactic. After its end, Charon gathered the remaining members along with former henchmen of Hunter J, who weren't on the airship when it crashed into the lake. The organization was pretty small until he managed to get control of a lugia, latios and latias with the remains of the Red Chain Project. Those pokémon are the only reason a puny, little scientist like Charon could control powerful commanders like Phoenix. Rose's roselia evolved shortly after she became a commander. She's been working on her projects ever since," Bones said.

"I see," Cynthia just mumbled. "And she told you all of this?"

"Yes, she did. Everything except her real name. It's probably too painful for her talk about that for some reason. But I have no reason to doubt her. Please, you must understand that she's not a bad person. Her bond with Roserade caused all this. She never got a real chance in life so don't be too harsh on her," he begged them. "She is a kind person and proved that when she took me in after I left Team Rocket. It was probably because our fates were so similar. She's like a mother to me."

"Don't worry. She'll get a fair trial just like everyone else," Looker reassured him.

It didn't help. Bones couldn't deny that she had a cruel side when she was under a lot of stress.

"So what about Dawn?" Cynthia asked. "They'll try to finish their job for sure. And Ash will probably be another target now. You know how unforgiving they are."

"Yes, I know. But they're safe for the moment. My abra took them to one of our secret bases." Cynthia wasn't convinced but it was probably the safest spot right now.

"I doubt that they would attack anytime soon," Bones told them. "After all, they have just lost two commanders."

"Two? They only lost one. Hawk escaped," Looker remarked.

"I doubt Charon will let him live after his failure. He only cares about money and Hawk cost him way too much already. Besides, there's still Team Rocket. Until the situation is under control, they won't waste any more resources to hunt down two kids," he explained.

"A valid point. But we should still be careful. Thank you for your cooperation. That should help you in your trial. It's a shame you didn't choose a proper job. You clearly aren't a criminal at heart." He shook his head.

"Sometimes you don't have a choice. Like Rose, I stole my partner from the trainer school when I couldn't attend it anymore. I would have had to return Marowak … See? I told you we are very similar." Looker could understand his decision although he still was upset about it.

"I'm sure you would have been allowed to stay together. But I think it's enough for now. Please return to your cell for now." Bones nodded and left the room with two officers. "Now let's have a talk with the J imposter."

* * *

><p>Ash and Johanna were waiting in silence when someone knocked on the door. Ash opened it to find Cynthia standing there.<p>

"Ash, may I talk to you for a moment?" she asked him.

"Yes, of course." He left the room with Pikachu.

"As you know, Dawn will have to stay here for a while. It would probably be good if you also stayed. I know we can't force you but …" Ash nodded.

"I'll gladly stay with her," he interrupted the champion.

"You're quite close, aren't you?" She didn't seem surprised at all. "When every life meets another life, something will be born. Do you remember that? It can mean rivalry, friendship or even more. But I'm digressing. If Dawn hadn't been injured, we would have called this a total victory. One of their commanders is gone, another one lost four of his pokémon and the imposter has been captured. Once the public knows about their lies, their reputation will be greatly damaged. Actually, we were extremely lucky. The imposter had several bombs attached to her body but Pikachu's thunderbolt deactivated the fuses without blowing them up."

"Wow, well done, Pikachu. You basically saved her life," Ash told his partner.

"Yes, he did. She told us a lot of things about the organization. They will probably prove invaluable in the future. Anyway, if you want to leave, you'll have to teleport since this building doesn't have a normal entrance. Talk to the woman at the counter to get an abra for that," she said. "I have to go now. There's still a lot to do. Bye, Ash."

"Bye, Cynthia," he replied before entering Dawn's room again.

Ash and Johanna had to wait two more days until Dawn finally woke up. Ash and Pikachu were asleep at that time but Johanna and the other pokémon were awake. They were the first to see Dawn stir at first and then open her eyes.

"Dawn!" She cried. "Finally! I was so worried about you!"

She and the pokémon gave her daughter a big hug, which hurt her quite a bit.

"Ouch, careful," she said, her voice still weak.

"Oh I'm sorry. I'm just so happy that you are awake again." They let go of her.

"Where is Ash? Is he alright?" Dawn asked.

"I should have known you would ask about him first. He's been staying with you since the beginning." Her mother pointed at a nearby chair, where he and Pikachu were sleeping. "You can imagine he's pretty tired as well."

"I'm a lucky girl," she said with a weak smile.

"Do you want me to wake him up?" But she shook her head.

"He needs some sleep too." She tried to stand up but it was impossible. "I feel so weak. What happened?"

"You were hit by three hyper beams at once. They told me that without Espeon's light screen you would be … Well, I don't even want to think about it. You broke your right arm and a few ribs but it's nothing that won't heal with time," she told her.

"I'm glad. What about … oh, Pikachu is waking up." He looked around sleepily before he noticed Dawn being awake and jumped next to her head, rubbing his cheek against hers with a loud 'pikaaa'. "Hey, I'm glad to see you too."

Then he went back to Ash, trying to wake him up.

"No Dawn, I don't want to go shopping …" Ash mumbled, still asleep.

This amused Johanna and the pokémon greatly whereas Dawn seemed to be a bit embarrassed. Soon Pikachu had enough, though, and used thunderbolt on him.

"Hey, what was that for?" Ash yelled. His eyes widened when he saw her. "You're awake!" He tried to hug her but was pulled back by Johanna.

"Not so fast. She's very weak right now so be gentle," she told him. "I should leave now. You probably have a lot to … talk about."

"Wait!" Dawn said. "I wanted to say that I'm sorry. Ash told me that our house and probably all your prizes were destroyed. That's my fault for being so reckless."

"Dawn, you're more important than any prize or even the ribbon cup." She put her hand on her daughter's shoulders. "Of course I'm not happy about the loss and we'll have to talk about it. But right now, I'm just glad that you're alive. The rest can be replaced." She went to the door. "You know, maybe I could even start coordinating again. I'm sure it would be fun." Before Dawn could answer she left the room.

"Mom coordinating? I guess I can forget about my next ribbon cup," Dawn said, laughing quietly before she got serious again. "Ash, I'm sorry."

"Sorry about that? I said the things that caused all of this. It is I who should be sorry. And I really am," Ash replied.

"No, it was my mistake. I thought I could rid the region of those poachers. Such a stupid thing to think. And I failed to teleport us to safety when I got the chance. Instead, I just sent Espeon into battle. And because of that you nearly got killed. I'm sorry." To her surprise, he sat down next to her and put his arms around her neck.

"Do you remember the things I said about love?" He asked shakily. She nodded. "I really meant them. It wasn't just to persuade you to come with me. Let me … prove it to you." As he didn't think he could describe it with words, he wanted to show it with his actions.

This was it. He has been preparing himself for this for days now. It was now or never. Slowly, he leaned in. When she realized what he was about to do, she didn't think about what to do, she simply closed her eyes, leaning in as well.

Their lips met, making them feel things they have never felt before. The touch was light at first but they soon wanted more. Dawn put her uninjured arm around his neck despite the pain, pulling him closer. His lips parted and even though he wondered whether he really should have done it, she did the same soon after. They enjoyed the taste of each others' lips and tongues until they had to part to catch their breath with Dawn sinking back into her pillow.

_Incredible! Ash just kissed me!_ she thought while looking into his brown eyes. _He really meant it! I hope he wasn't disappointed. After all, it was my first kiss. He was amazing. Or is it because it was my first? It's always something special and I will remember it forever, that's for sure. Although I'd probably prefer to forget about the broken arm and ribs._

He was having similar thoughts.

_She kissed me back. I hope I wasn't too bold. But looking into her beautiful, sparkling eyes tells me that she liked it. Even though I probably didn't do it too well. Maybe she's thinking the same? Well, it was a memorable first kiss. I should have done that earlier. It could have saved us a lot of trouble. _

"I love you, Dawn. Do you believe me now?" he asked.

"Of course! I would never doubt you. I love you too," she replied.

Then they realized that their pokémon were looking at them with their mouths wide open. The whole scene looked so funny that Johanna just had to laugh loudly.

"Mom! Have you been watching us?" Dawn asked, blushing madly.

"Privilege of a mother. It's about time you did that. But I just came here to tell you that Delia just called and wants to talk to you. I'm sure she'll be delighted to hear about this scene." Ash's eyes widened.

"No! Don't tell her about this," he begged but it was no use.

"I'm sure she'll be delighted to hear that her son finally found someone to love," she teased him before running away, giggling.

"Adults can be so immature," Dawn remarked, shaking her head slowly. Then she had a mischievous expression on her "Alright, Ash. I don't think I can believe the things you said. So would you mind to … prove your love a bit more?" She didn't need to ask him twice.

"I can prove it whenever you want!" He had already come to love it.

They hungered for the taste of each others' lips and spent a few minutes enjoying the kisses and practicing them a bit until Dawn was too tired. She went back to sleep and he went to answer the call from his mother but not without promising her to return soon.

Johanna was already waiting at the videophone and returned to her daughter after he got there. He was already dreading this conversation.

"Oh, Ash. I'm so happy for you!" Delia said with tears in her eyes. "I didn't think you'd get a girlfriend that quickly after everything that happened in Unova."

"Mom! I know it's great but I don't need to be reminded of it every five minutes!" he replied.

"I already expected you to need my help for that," she teased. "But come to think of it, I've never actually met Dawn. That will change soon."

"What do you mean?" Ash asked. "Wait, you aren't calling from home. Where are you?"

"The international police don't want to tell me where I am exactly. They thought it was best for me to go somewhere safe after everything that happened with Johanna's house. As soon as an abra is ready, I will be on my way. Now what exactly happened? Johanna told me a bit but I'd like more details." So he told her everything.

Delia was shocked to hear it since she didn't expect the situation to have been that dangerous. But the things he told her about Dawn and the way he said it made her like his girlfriend more and more. Still, there was something bothering her. Those Galactic Hunters didn't sound like they would give up so easily. She told him to be careful but knew that he would get into trouble again soon. Her son just was that type of person.

They ended the conversation after he was done talking and promised her to be more careful. Of course, Dawn was still asleep when he returned. Together with Johanna , he took care of her. Despite the injuries, they thought that the following week was one of the best in their lives. They were completely safe in this hideout. It was kind of strange that every day when they looked out of the window, the scene was completely different. Sometimes it was a city, the next day it was a forest and then they had a nice view of the ocean. Unsurprisingly the employees refused to talk about it.

But the thing that they enjoyed most was each others' presence. The kisses got better and more daring with time and were even worth Johanna's teasing. That only got worse when Delia arrived. But the most embarrassing thing (at least for Ash) was when she told Dawn that it would be her job now to remind him to change his underwear every day. Dawn also got a few visits from friends like Zoey, Leona and Kenny, who offered the abra egg again. This time she accepted but only because Ash also got an egg, from which a bagon would hatch. Kenny made it clear, though, that he didn't offer it because he regarded Ash as a real friend but because he brought Dawn back. When they asked where he got all those eggs, he told them about the pokémon day care center in Solaceon Town, which they have seen during their travels through Sinnoh. The abra egg hatched only two days later with the bagon egg following soon after. They would become powerful members of their team in the future. Dawn also thought about lending him Espeon or Abra when he needed quick transportation as she had two pokémon who could use teleport now.

About a week later, Dawn was finally allowed to leave. There was one problem, though. Where should she and her mother stay? Looker himself offered them to stay in the hideout at least until Dawn was fully healed. Since they had no better idea, they accepted. However, Ash wasn't too happy with that decision. He wanted to find that Hawk guy and make him pay for what he did to Dawn although he never mentioned it. In the end he convinced himself that Hawk and his allies would find him sooner or later anyway.

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><p>Charon was in a very bad mood, to say the least. Not only did they lose a commander without even accomplishing their goal but Rose also asked him for two or three more weeks to finish her little project. It annoyed him greatly but he still needed her. Now he wanted some information on the kids that caused so much trouble as he left the matter to his subordinates until now. He called commander Phoenix for that.<p>

"It's about time," he said when the commander finally arrived. "You better have all the information I need."

"Don't worry. I have pretty much everything we need to know about them." He took his papers and started to tell his boss everything about them, their families, accomplishments and pokémon. It wasn't until he showed him some photos that Charon recognized them.

"I know those brats!" he exclaimed. "They were there when Cyrus disappeared. And now they're trying to meddle with our business."

"What about Cynthia? She's even worse for our business," Phoenix pointed out.

"She's also much harder to take out. And nobody laughs at you when you lose against the champion. But if you keep losing against some children, people will stop taking you seriously." He pondered for a moment before making a decision. "Rose will take care of them."

"Why Rose? I can do it too!" Phoenix complained.

"Because we can afford to lose her once she's done with her work. It will also give her an excellent opportunity to show how powerful those things really are," Charon told him.

"I don't think we need another test. Her tropius beat my moltres because of them! And she claims that they aren't at full power yet!" But he couldn't convince his boss.

In the end, he called Rose to tell her that she would get three more weeks. Then she would have to prove the success of her work by eliminating the kids once and for all. It was her chance to show him what she was made of. Or to lose his trust forever.


	40. Chapter 40

**One chapter full of fluff. I'm serious. You won't find a lot of action or information here except at the beginning. **

**Disclaimer: I don't own Pokémon Fanfiction.**

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><p><span>Chapter 40: A perfect Day<span>

During the next days, Ash and Dawn started to act more and more like a real couple. In the beginning they felt a bit uncomfortable touching each other but that quickly changed. They started to enjoy the cuddling and kissing felt natural, even in front of other people. It got boring inside the hideout soon so they decided to at least spend the afternoons somewhere else. As long as they stayed in the cities they would be safe. Looker didn't want to take any risks, though, and attached tracking devices to their pokédexes. That way he would find them quickly if he needed to. Cynthia informed them of the enhancing devices, which the Galactic Hunters might use against them in their next attack and how to counter them. Bones told her that they broke easily when first heated up and then quickly cooled down. Because of that she gave them the advice to always have pokémon with fire and ice type moves with them just in case. In addition they should also have an electric type or another pokémon who can paralyze an opponent due to the speed enhancing devices. Ash and Dawn trusted her completely, doing exactly as they were told.

Most people wouldn't consider their activities very romantic but they had a lot of fun with training and tag battles. Although they mostly ate at the hideout, Ash, trying to show that he can be romantic as well, also invited her to more expensive places a few times even though he was completely content with the usual food. Dawn, on the other hand, seemed to really enjoy it, which made it absolutely worth it. About two weeks after they were first allowed to go outside, they started to become a bit bolder until they decided to spend a whole day outside. Of course, Looker heard about it and tried to stop them but was stopped himself by one of his bosses. In fact, the boss wanted him to go even further by offering them a small house near Sunnyshore City to stay for the night. It was supposed to be a trap with the kids as a bait. Looker hated this idea but he couldn't refuse a direct order. At first they were skeptical about the offer but after they had a look at it, they just couldn't resist. Not only was it a great place to spend the night with pretty much everything you needed but the beach was also just beautiful. But since he was very worried about their safety he placed a lot of cameras around the house so that he could react quickly. Ash and Dawn didn't know that they were just being used.

Ash woke up earlier than usual that day as he was just too excited for it to start. He even spent a lot more time than usual in the bathroom to prepare himself for the day. Although his hair was still a mess, Dawn wouldn't want it any other way. However, it was still nothing compared to the time she spent in there. It annoyed him a bit to wait so long but when he saw her hair, which was bound up in a ponytail with heart-shaped hair clips instead of the usual ones, he couldn't help but feel that it was worth it. He loved it when she had a ponytail, maybe because it reminded him of her contests. And she loved to tease him about it since he would never admit how much he loved that hairstyle. His efforts in the bathroom didn't go unnoticed either and she really appreciated it. Of course, their mothers knew about their plans all along, teasing them whenever they could but also asking them to be careful. It wasn't any different when Ash and Dawn were about to leave for Sunnyshore City, where they would have a nice, long breakfast in a café.

"Wow, you sure were busy in the bathroom," Johanna said, checking their appearances before whispering to Dawn with a sly grin. "You sure caught his eye. Don't forget to use protection."

"Mom!" Dawn blushed madly. "We aren't doing … that kind of stuff."

"I know. I would kill him if you did. Have fun!" she replied, calming down her daughter.

"You look good, Ash. Just make sure not to stare at her behind all the time again," Delia told Ash.

"I don't … stare! Only at her eyes maybe." he replied but she just wouldn't stop.

"Yes, as long as she doesn't turn away," Delia countered. "I should tell her to make sure you change your underwear every day instead of just reminding you of it."

"Mom! Ever since you're here you've become just as bad as Johanna.," he complained.

"That's because it's so much fun. You have fun too!" she told him.

He went over to Dawn who called out Abra. She was quite often with Dawn now, as her trainer wanted to become less dependant on Espeon. Since she showed Abra all the important places in Sinnoh, she could use her to teleport everywhere as well.

"Please take us to the center of Sunnyshore City." They glowed white before disappearing.

They reappeared near the shopping mall. The streets were still pretty empty as it was still early in the morning but soon they would be full of people who wanted to enjoy the beautiful day. There was not a single cloud in the sky just as predicted by the weather forecast. It was perfect. This was going to be their perfect day.

"So what are we going to do now?" Dawn asked. She had left the planning to Ash.

"Let's have breakfast. I think I found the right one for this occasion." She grinned. Of course, he would start the day with a big breakfast.

So she followed him to this café, which was located near the beach. She could already see that it wasn't very cheap but the food would probably be worth it. Since there were not many people there, they were soon approached by a waitress. Whereas Dawn only ordered a coffee and a croissant, Ash ordered the big breakfast special, which probably would have qualified as lunch. To her surprise, he even offered her some of his food but she declined, knowing that he needed it more. She proceeded to watch him eating all of it. Most people would have called it messy or even disgusting but she thought that Ash was actually pretty cute like that. At least as long as she didn't get hit by his food.

"Now, Ash, tell me," she said when he was done. "What are your plans for the day?"

"Well, first we'll visit the beach. If the weather forecast is right, the weather should stay like that for the rest of the day. Then we'll have lunch at a nice restaurant nearby. You'll love it, trust me. After that, we'll do whatever you want until it's time for dinner. I've prepared everything for a nice picnic near that house we're staying in. Then we should go there and watch some movies. There's quite a collection in there," he told her.

"You don't have planned all this on your own, have you?" she asked. "Who helped you? Gary?"

"How did you … Fine! Gary gave me a few hints but nothing big. I did most of it by myself," he claimed. "So what would you like to do after lunch?"

"Hm …" She pondered on it for a while before she remembered something. "I know! We'll go shopping!" His horror-struck face made her laugh so hard she nearly fell out of the chair.

"No way! There must be something else! Please think of something else! Anything but shopping!" he begged her but it was no use.

"No, my decision is final. You may even carry my bags. Isn't that nice?" She could hardly believe it but he looked even more frightened now. "Come on. It isn't that bad." Of course, he wasn't convinced at all so she gave him a tender kiss. "Trust me, you'll love it."

"Alright, but only because it's you," he said, still grumbling.

"Relax, Ash. It won't be as bad as you think," she reassured him. "Now shall we go to the beach?"

"Sure!" He quickly paid for the food and drinks before they left.

Just as expected from Sunnyshore City, it was already hot although it was still morning and without a cool breeze coming from the sea it would have been way too hot for most people. They soon found changing booths to use. Whereas Ash was done quickly, Dawn spent a lot more time which was also due to her arm so she called out Buneary to help her a bit with the swimsuit and the suncream. She was wearing the blue two-piece swimsuit from Undella Beach but with a shirt to cover the bandages on her chest. Ash, who was also wearing nothing new, liked it nonetheless, already ignoring what his mother told him.

"Hey, Dawn. Come here! The water is really fresh!" he shouted from the water, where he was swimming with Buizel. Swellow was flying above them, Pikachu and Emboar were building a sandcastle, Bagon was sleeping in the sun and Glalie was still in his pokéball since he didn't like the high temperatures.

"Very funny, Ash," she replied. "You know I can't go into the water like this. I'll just enjoy the sun." But Ash wanted to have more fun with her.

"You need to relax a bit." He turned to Buizel with a sly grin. "Use water gun on her. I'm sure she'll appreciate the refreshment."

Dawn noticed it, though, jumping out the way so that the water hit Buneary instead, who wasn't happy at all. She retaliated with ice beam, encasing Ash and Buizel in a large block of ice. Dawn couldn't help but laugh, especially when she saw the look on Ash's face. It took her and the other pokémon a while to calm down. Then she called out Ninetales, Abra and Lucario. Magnezone preferred to stay inside its pokéball since it wasn't really interested in such activities unless they involved electricity for some reason.

"Ninetales, get Buizel out of there," she commanded. "And while you're at it, you also free that big oaf who thought it would be fun if get wet like that. But don't roast them."

She understood and just created a short sunny day orb, which melted the ice quickly. Ash and his pokémon got out of the water, shivering. The look on Dawn's face made it even worse.

"Don't say a word," he mumbled. "I have to warm up a bit."

They didn't notice that quite a few people have been watching the whole scene with amused grins but they didn't care anyway. This was their day and nobody better interfered with it. They lay down and soon Dawn fell asleep, lying on her belly. Ash has been waiting for this. Even though he knew that it was Buneary who froze him and that it also was his own fault he just couldn't resist having a little revenge. Besides, it was also a kind of prevenge for the shopping. He got an ice cube and lifted the shirt a bit near the neck, letting the ice slide down her back. She almost instantly jumped up, trying to get it out of her shirt while shrieking madly. As soon as the ice was gone, she turned towards the culprit, a certain boy who was lying on the sand, laughing.

"Alright, now you did it!" She tried to catch him but he quickly got up, running away and laughing all the time, which only increased her anger. "Get back here! You can't run forever!"

"Why not? You're too slow to catch me!" he teased.

"Just because of those injuries," she replied.

"You're legs aren't broken!" he pointed out.

"Shut up and surrender!" she jumped towards him, grabbing his ankle with her free hand, which caused him to fall down. Before he could get up again, she was already on top of him. "Ready to receive your punishment?" she asked with a grin.

"No, please! I'll do anything!" he begged.

"Anything? First show me that you're sorry." He understood so they locked their lips in a passionate kiss, rolling around in the process. When they had to part to catch breath, Ash noticed how close they were with only few things to cover their bodies. It was rather inspirational, even for a boy like him.

"Happy now?" he asked, helping her getting up.

"Not yet. My back is still a bit cold. You have to give me a massage now," she told him.

"Cold? After being on the hot sand?" But since she gave him the puppy look there was nothing he could do but agree.

So they went back to their pokémon where she lied down on her belly, waiting for him to start.

"What about the shirt?" he asked.

"What about it? If it gets in your way, take it off." She could guess why he blushed all of sudden. "Ash, it's not like I'm wearing nothing below. Who do you think I am?"

"Uhm, right," he answered, embarrassed about the things he thought.

He started a bit too rough. Then he was too soft but with time, he got a bit better until she nearly fell asleep again. Sudden kisses near the neck woke her up, though. It wasn't like she didn't enjoy it. In fact, it felt really, really good but she would have never thought that Ash could get ideas like this. Unless …

"You got that idea from Gary, didn't you?" she asked all of sudden.

"Caught me," he admitted. "He told me that you might like it. But just tell me if you want me to stop."

"I didn't say that!" So he continued.

He also enjoyed it because of her hair, which always had a nice scent, this time of strawberries. Of course, she didn't like it when he messed with her hair so he had to do it when she wasn't looking. After a while he stood up and got some ice cream, which she graciously accepted. They spent the rest of the time at the beach relaxing although Dawn was persuaded to at least go near the water, cooling her feet in the sea, which she soon regretted when a large wave washed over her. As soon as she was dry again, they left for the restaurant Ash was talking about. It wasn't very fancy, which was good since she would have been mad if he had taken her to a top class restaurant in their normal outfits, but it was still fancy enough to create a romantic atmosphere. This, combined with the really good food made it a memorable event.

"Do you think you can afford this?" Dawn asked.

"Of course!" he replied. "And if I can't, you'll help me out, right?"

"You know, Ash, that would make you quite a cheap boyfriend," she teased. "Nobody invites his girlfriend to a restaurant like this and then just makes them pay for the food. Although I would pay my share if you asked me to."

"I was just kidding!" Ash said. "But there was one thing I wanted to ask you." He hesitated a bit. "Why did you choose me? I'm sure there are a lot of boys out there who would love having you as their girlfriend."

At first she thought it was a joke but soon realized that he was serious. So gave him an honest answer.

"Let's see … you're brave, selfless, dedicated, funny, handsome and simply amazing." She listed all the things she could think of. "You make me feel special. But most importantly, you were always there for me when I needed it. Unlike all the other boys I know. There may be even more but that is more than enough for me to love you."

"Wow, that's surprising," Ash admitted.

"It's just the truth," she claimed. "You aren't perfect but …"

"Tell me one thing!" he interrupted her.

"Your table manners are bad. You sometimes say strange things in your sleep." He thought it would be over quickly but she just kept going. "You sometimes just can't take a hint about certain things. You are probably the most stubborn person I have ever met. You …"

"Alright, I understand. But you're not perfect either." She just laughed. "Some of the things you listed can be applied to you as well."

"I know. I also have my faults but I guess that's why I can accept yours." She slowly leaned in. "You're not perfect but you're perfect for me." She gave him a kiss. "If there is a problem we can work on it together."

"That's so deep. Where did you hear that?" he asked, laughing.

"Why do you think I heard it somewhere else? Maybe I read it in a book?" She noticed that he was done with his food. "Alright, enough for now. It's time to go shopping!"

He instantly paled. During the conversation he had nearly forgotten about his promise. After paying for the food, he was dragged to the store she was thinking of by Dawn. Because the streets were more crowded now and Ash was more than reluctant to follow her, it took a lot longer than expected. The size of city didn't help so they arrived much later than expected. In the end, Ash gasped when he it.

"Pokémon Mega Store," Ash read the name of the building.

"It has pretty much everything that has to do with pokémon. I wanted to go shopping but since it was supposed to be a day for both of use, I chose a place where we both could have fun." Ash gave her a big hug, nearly suffocating her.

"You're the most awesome girlfriend ever!" He showered her with kisses while she was just giggling.

"I feel honored," she said.

She couldn't help but think that he had already heard about this store since he seemed to be even more excited than her. It wouldn't surprise her as its opening was a pretty big deal in Sinnoh. And she didn't get disappointed when she saw it from the inside. They could tell that it was one of the most modern stores in the world.

The ground floor contained a large selection of things like potions and other things to cure pretty much everything any pokémon could suffer from. The basement floor was full of pokémon food, which could probably even put Brock to shame. The first floor was the most interesting one for them as it contained items which had direct effects in battle. There were items like the miracle seed, which improved attacks of a certain type and more exotic ones like the toxic or flame orb or even a few rare life orbs. While Ash was testing the magnet, which was supposed to increase Pikachus electric power, Dawn bought one orb of each type. Ash decided that it was worth it, buying a few items so that their battles against the Galactic Hunter would be easier in the future. They also found all kinds of evolutionary stones but since they didn't have a pokémon, who needed it, they quickly went to the next floor, which was full of all kinds of pokémon accessories like pillows, clothes or furniture. But on the third floor, they found a lot of strange things with the perfumes being the strangest. Although there were great ones like 'Liligant Aroma', most of them were just plain horrible like 'Smell like a Snorlax' or 'Muk's Delight'. Ash and Dawn quickly went on to the last floor after seeing those.

It didn't have any items to sell but was just there to relax, containing a café, a large fountain and place for kids to play among other things. Although they were starting to get hungry, Ash didn't want to ruin the picnic so they only stayed there for a short time before going to the house, where they would stay for the night. They had a closer look at the city on the way. Getting through was really difficult, though, and getting lost a few times didn't help either. It was already late when they arrived to get the food but they still had to find a nice spot for the picnic. There was a hill near the house, where they decided to have it. It didn't turn out as romantic as Dawn had hoped. As usual, Ash devoured his share as quickly as he could, which was only hastened by the fact that he was really hungry by now. Dawn was a bit more humble, eating less and more slowly and watching him with an amused grin.

After they were done, they just sat there, snuggling and enjoying the sunset. Gary had told him that Dawn would probably be the kind of girl who enjoyed watching it and he was right. Dawn, on the other hand, was surprised that he didn't complain or fall asleep but in fact, he didn't really pay attention to the sun, admiring her instead. Only when it started to get a bit cold, they returned to the house, where they watched a few movies. Ash had the first choice and, unsurprisingly, chose a pokémon action movie. Dawn had to admit that it wasn't too bad even though it wasn't exactly what she wanted for such an evening. Then it was her turn to choose a movie but to her disappointment, most of them weren't exactly very romantic. It was still enough to cause Ash to complain, though.

"Stop it!" she told him. "You got to choose the last one so you'll watch this and you'll like it."

"Fine!" He gave up quickly.

The movie itself was way too complicated for him to understand it so he tried to sleep but Dawn wouldn't let him. Only when it was about to end did he finally manage to do it. Dawn smiled when she saw him. Despite this, he was trying very hard and was way more romantic than she would have ever thought even though he needed Gary's advice from time to time.

She decided not to wake him up this time but to try something different. Ignoring the rest of the movie, she went to the beds, grabbed a pillow and hit him as hard as she could with it. He woke up immediately, trying to protect himself with his arms.

"No fair! You caught me off guard," he complained.

"That's your fault for falling asleep," she replied, laughing.

He ran as fast as he could to the bedroom, grabbed a pillow and started to fight back. For the next 20 minutes a fierce battle took place, which even caused the pokémon to abandon their current activities to watch it. Finally, they were too tired to continue so they lay down on the bed, breathing heavily.

"That was fun," Dawn remarked.

"Yeah, but it's already late now. Should we go to sleep?" Ash asked.

"Sure," she answered, snuggling up to him. "It's perfect like that. I don't even need to change into my pyjamas. Besides, I'm way too tired for that."

Although Ash would have preferred to change, he didn't want to change his current position with Dawn resting her head on his chest. Before he knew it, she was already sleeping , making it impossible for him to move as he didn't want to wake her up. But since he was also tired, it didn't take long for him to fall asleep as well. Their pokémon followed soon after.

Both of them thought that it was one of the best days in their lives. They wouldn't be able to do it too often because of all the effort it took to organize something like that and they wouldn't always have a house for themselves. But then again, if every day was like that, it wouldn't be anything special anymore.

At midnight, four people and an exeggutor appeared near the house. One of them was a woman with green braided hair, clad in the usual uniform of the Galactic Hunters commanders.

"Foolish Looker," she mumbled. "He thinks he set up a trap. We'll see how will react to our trap. Let's finish this!"

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><p><strong>This chapter was a pain to write for me. Things will get really serious now. <strong>


	41. Chapter 41

**A darker chapter again.**

**Disclaimer: I don't own Pokémon or its characters.**

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><p><span>Chapter 41: Frontal Assault<span>

"Shiftry, come on out! Use dark pulse!" It smashed its arms into the ground, creating a dark field, which made teleporting impossible. "Very good. Return! Let's go!"

Lucario and Abra immediately felt the dark pulse and woke up Dawn, who felt that something was wrong. It took a bit longer to wake Ash and the other pokémon. Just when they were ready, someone knocked on their door. Dawn didn't want to take any risks now.

"Abra, use teleport!" But it didn't work. "What? Ash, there is definitely something wrong! We have to be careful."

"Yes, let's see who it is," he suggested.

They went to the windows near the entrance to see a woman in the uniform of the Galactic Hunters commanders standing outside.

"It's one of them. But I doubt that she's alone," Ash whispered. "There are probably others waiting outside."

"Open the door!" They heard the woman shouting. "My men have surrounded the house. So don't even try to run away. Just open the door and face your death!"

"Why should we? " Ash shouted. "So that it's even easier for you?"

"I offer you the chance to have a real battle but we wouldn't have enough space inside," she told them. "You have one minute to open the door before we destroy the whole house."

"What do you think, Ash?" Dawn asked. "I don't think we have a choice."

"I agree. Maybe we get a chance once we're outside," he replied.

Slowly, they opened the door and walked outside, watching the surroundings. At first the woman was alone but then three men, one of them commander Hawk appeared. It was dark with only the lights from the entrance illuminating the area a bit.

"Smart choice," Rose remarked.

"What are you waiting for?" Hawk asked. "Let's kill them and get out of here!"

"I'm in charge here … captain," she retorted. He wasn't happy about his new title, especially when someone said it like that. "And our mission is also to test our new weapons. There's no better way to do it than in a battle. Besides, we have a lot of time as our men will stop anyone who tries to interfere even if it's the champion herself with the Elite Four. Kids, it's time for you to pay for the things you did. Because of you, the boss made me abandon my other projects. Roserade, it's time to battle!"

Ash and Dawn noticed that there was something strange about him. His eyes were unfocused. Rose put on strange glasses, which gave her a lot of new abilities.

"Let's not waste any more time. Roserade versus your pokémon. Call them out or we will have to kill you right now!" There was no other choice.

"Pikachu, let's do this!" Pikachu nodded and got ready for battle.

"Piplup, you too! Use hydro pump!" He shot a massive stream of water at Roserade.

"Thunderbolt!" Their moves combined to create a powerful attack.

"Dodge 90, 0, 3!" Roserade made three quick steps to the left, easily dodging the stream. "I see you're confused. Didn't they tell you that Roserade is blind? These glasses allow me to gather information on how to guide him in battle properly with the coordinates shown to me. Now feel his power! Magical leaf 320, 0, 20!"

The move actually looked more like a leaf storm, releasing dozens of leaves, which were nearly impossible to dodge due to their numbers. It probably would have been possible if they hadn't been caught by surprise. They weren't weak either as they easily knocked out Piplup and Pikachu.

"No! Piplup! Thank you, return for now. Ash, you know the plan. Magnezone, it's your turn! Use lock on and zap cannon!" Ash understood. A small red dot appeared on Roserade's head.

"Well done, Pikachu." He took Pikachu in his arms and carried him away from the battle field. "Emboar, I choose you!"

"Magical leaf 320, 0, 20!" He did the exactly same move as before.

"Flamethrower!" He had real trouble burning all the leaves but in the end, he was successful. "Fire blast!" Magnezone shot the electric orb, which slowly moved towards the grass type.

"Dodge 270, 0, 3! Keep dodging the zap cannon!" It wasn't difficult for him to dodge the fire blast or evade the zap cannon, using the sound it emitted to determine its position. "Energy ball 0, 0, 15!" It nearly hit the pokémon, who dodged it just in time. "Magical leaf 10, 0, 15 and 350, 0, 15!"

"Use flamethrower!" Roserade shot two storms of leaves at his opponents at the same time, one of which got burned by the flames.

"Flash cannon!" The steel type was less successful but only got hit by a few leaves since Emboar helped it a bit with another flamethrower.

The noise caused Rose's pokémon to nearly get hit by the zap cannon as he nearly didn't hear it soon enough.

"Poison jab 10, 0, 15!" He closed the distance with incredible speed, nearly knocking out Emboar with one hit but it wasn't everything. "Dodge 90, 0, 10!" Roserade moved out the way, revealing the zap cannon that was flying towards Emboar now.

"Use spark!" Magnezone deflected the orb, charging it up and increasing its speed in the process.

"Energy ball 0, 0, 5!" It collided with the zap cannon, which got slowed down considerably. "Solar beam 0, 0, 10!" He shot the beam almost instantly although they were fighting in the middle of the night. Emboar evaded it by jumping up high whereas Magnezone just moved a bit to the right. "Magical leaf 0, 35, 8!"

"Use flare blitz!" Emboar charged at Roserade, burning the leaves he shot at him on the way.

"Dodge 340, 0, 10!" Once again, he evaded the attack with his enormous speed, stopping right in front of Magnezone. "Now giga drain!"

Ash noticed the slow zap cannon, that was still moving towards the grass type.

"Focus punch on that thing!" Ash commanded, pointing at it. Dawn could guess what he was trying to do but he needed her help to actually hit Roserade.

"I know! Metal sound!" Magnezone barely endured the giga drain before it released an extremely loud noise, which not only made it impossible for Roserade to hear the zap cannon approaching after Emboar shot it at him with his punch but also his trainer's commands. It resulted in a direct hit, which not only caused quite a lot of damage but also paralyzed him. It even gave Emboar enough time to hit him with a fire blast. When the metal sound ended, he could finally be given commands again.

"Enough of this! Spinning solar beam!" He shot beams in all directions while spinning rapidly, knocking out both his opponents.

"Great job! Return for now!" Ash knew that he had to protect Dawn's fire type now. "Swellow, I choose you!"

"You too, Magnezone! Ninetales, I'm counting on you! Use flamethrower!" Rose just laughed.

"How cheap. Dodge 90, 0, 3!" However, the paralysis stopped him from moving, resulting in a direct hit. "Damn it! Leaf storm!"

"Use fire spin and flamethrower!" Ash's and Dawn's pokémon retreated behind the vortex of fire, which destroyed a lot of the leaves coming at them. The flamethrower took care of the rest even though it took great effort. "Now nasty plot and fire spin!"

"Use aerial ace!" Ash tried to distract Roserade until Ninetales was ready.

"Energy ball 350, 0, 15!" It didn't work as he shot it right at the fire type but Swellow stopped the energy ball by destroying it with his beak before going straight for the grass type. "Dodge 90, 0, 5!" Even with the decreased speed he was too fast for Swellow. But it gave Ninetales enough time to create a massive fire vortex in front of her.

"Flamethrower!" When it passed through the fire, its power increased dramatically. Together with Swellow's aerial aces, it made dodging pretty difficult for Roserade.

"Move 330, 0, 16! Evade the fire! Then sludge bomb in front of you!" He quickly moved directly in front of Ninetales, the vortex right behind him.

"Whirlwind!" Ash commanded. It blew the flames from the vortex right at the two pokémon, damaging Roserade and activating Ninetale's flash fire, which increased the power of the next flamethrower. Roserade got hit by powerful flames from two sides but still managed to use sludge bomb, knocking Ninetales out with one shot.

"Sludge bomb 180, 25, 10!" He turned around, shooting another sludge bomb at Swellow, who also fainted. It was clear, though, that the grass type was suffering from a lot of pain now. "You can do this! You're strong! Stronger than anything else!" But the devices inside his body have heated up quite a lot.

"Very well done! Go, Buneary!" They were ready for the final stage of the plan.

"Thanks, Swellow. Glalie, I choose you!" If this didn't work, they would lose for sure.

"I know what you're trying to do and I won't allow it. Leaf storm! Full power!" The attack covered the whole battle field.

"Blizzard!" Ash and Dawn shouted at the same time.

The rest of their pokémon got in front of them, shielding them with protect. Rose's companions called out Xatu and two golbat to protect them from the powerful storm. The only one who didn't move at all was Rose. The blizzard froze most of the leaves, which fell to the ground but many got still through hurting the pokémon. They didn't stop the blizzard, though, maintaining the storm of ice until they collapsed from exhaustion. Roserade was frozen solid but only two seconds later she shattered the ice from within. However, there was definitely something wrong now as he started to cough violently.

"Finish them! Magical leaf 10 0 15 and 355 0 16!" He managed to do it but he shot only ten small leaves, which didn't have enough power to knock out Ash's and Dawn's pokémon. "Damn you, Bones! I should have never told you about the weakness. You have done well. Return!" She recalled Roserade and wanted to use Shiftry now but he got out of his pokéball again. "What's wrong?"

He coughed up small machine parts and a strange sap while his skin was getting paler and paler with the color leaving the roses. This went on for a while until it suddenly stopped. Just when she thought it was over, he simply collapsed. "Roserade! NO! Wormadam, use signal beam on the ground!" She called out a wormadam in a plant cloak, who destroyed the dark field with the signal beam. Then she called out her exeggutor. "Use teleport! Take us to a pokémon center!"

"Wait! You can't …" Hawk tried to stop her but she was already gone.

There was an awkward silence. Nobody knew what just happened but Ash and Dawn were the first to react. After all, they weren't safe yet.

"Abra, use hidden power on the cannons! Lucario, dark pulse on Xatu! Buneary, ice beam on the same target!" Abra teleported in front of the enemies, destroying the stone cannons with the orbs. Buneary was exhausted but still managed to use ice beam, knocking out Xatu with Lucario's help.

"Buizel, aqua jet! Bagon, headbutt! Glalie, use ice beam on the golbat!" Buizel and Bagon knocked out one of Hawk's companions each and Galie defeated the golbat by freezing them.

Hawk tried to call out his last pokémon but the pokéball was pulled out of his grasp by Lucario's psychic. With six pokémon facing him there was only one choice.

"I surrender!" He kneeled down, hands behind his head.

Meanwhile, the police was fighting against a large amount of Galactic Hunters grunts until they suddenly started to flee. One after another teleported away.

"Something must have happened!" An officer said to Looker. "Maybe they have accomplished their mission?"

"I hope not. Try teleporting again! It should work now," he ordered.

He was right. This time, it worked and, to their relief, they found the two still alive. Several officers followed, arresting Hawk and the two grunts.

"I'm glad you're alive," Looker said to Ash and Dawn. "Are you alright?"

"I … think so." Ash looked at dawn who nodded.

"But what happened to Rose?" he asked. "The cameras got destroyed during your battle."

"I don't really know. We managed to destroy those things inside Roserade's body. Then it coughed and collapsed so Rose brought it to a pokéon center," Ash told him.

"Interesting." He turned to another officer. "You heard that? Check all the pokémon centers!" He turned back to the young trainers. "I'm sorry about all of this. It was my fault for not refusing my orders. We used you as baits and there is no excuse for that," he told them.

"You did? I … I'm disappointed," Dawn said sadly. "I … have to think about this a bit longer."

"You're not the only one." Ash gave her a hug to cheer her up.

"You have every right to be mad at me. But now you should take your pokémon to the pokémon center. They look really exhausted. If you go to the one in Sunnyshore City, I'll give you information on what happened to Rose soon. Oh, and it's a shame about the house," he remarked before calling out his abra, who used teleport.

They turned around to find that the house was had taken quite a bit of damage. In fact, the leaf storm had completely wrecked the place. They did as Looker told them, teleporting to Sunnyshore City. First they had their pokémon healed, which took a bit longer than usual since it was still in the middle of the night, and changed a few of them before waiting for him. Ash had Pikachu, Buizel, Infernape, Noctowl, Serperior and Scrafty with him, Dawn's current pokémon were Piplup, Espeon, Lucario, Mamoswine, Metagross and Zoroark.

* * *

><p>Charon's metagross went to the center of the control room of the airship where it got connected with several cables, taking control of it.<p>

"Destination: Sunnyshore City!" Charon ordered.

It soon started to move quickly without making a lot of noise, which would be bad for a stealth airship. It had been modified so that a single metagross could have full control over it with a few exceptions. Of course, it could also be used manually but he wouldn't do that unless it was absolutely necessary.

"Reaching destination in 18 minutes and 27 seconds," the pokémon told him telepathically.

Just then Phoenix entered the control room.

"You called me?" he asked.

"It seems Rose has failed and has been successful at the same time. The devices she made are wonderful. It's a shame she preferred to try to save her Roserade instead of finishing the job," Charon told him. "Trying to save such a useless pokémon … it doesn't matter now. The important thing is that we have to finish it now. Get ready to capture them in about 15 minutes."

"Already?" Phoenix thought that they would do that in a few days instead.

"Yes, already! If we capture and eliminate them today we can still claim victory. Besides, they won't expect us to attack so soon. But if we wait, they will hide and their protection will only increase." There were still hideouts that he didn't know about. "You will take care of that personally. Ever since the disaster with Viper and Hawk some of our best men have left us because they thought we were too weak. The will soon find out what happens to traitors. But because of them I had to promote idiots like Phantom and Thunder. You're the only one I can count on."

"That makes sense. But capture? Not kill?" He shook his head.

"They have caused so much trouble now that a simple kill wouldn't be enough. Metagross thinks that an execution at Spear Pillar will have the greatest effect. I like the idea. It's the same place Team Galactic was defeated. Anyway, we need them alive for that. Don't you fail me, too!" But Charon knew that Phoenix wouldn't disappoint him.

"I won't. I'm not like those losers. But what about those devices Rose made? You said it was a success?" he asked.

"Oh yes. Her roserade took down six of their pokémon, always fighting two at the same time before it got defeated itself. But the best thing is: When they broke, they seemed to have caused a lot of damage. With its small and weal body, I doubt that a roserade would survive it. Which is good. We don't need average pokémon like that to survive or even fall into the enemies' hands. When the devices are broken, the pokémon is basically useless. But imagine those things on a legendary pokémon!" His grin got wider. "It could still fight after their destruction. I have already ordered her team to use them on Lugia. It will take a while but then it will be unstoppable."

"Wow, that sounds great. Like a flame that consumes the unworthy. But I better prepare the skarmory for the attack," Phoenix said.

"Good idea. By the way, you should also try to capture Looker, Rose and Bones. The kids are more important, though." Phoenix nodded and left the room. "I hope I'll never have to say something like this again."

* * *

><p>Finally, Looker arrived but there was someone with him. Someone Ash and Dawn didn't expect. It was commander Rose but she was wearing handcuffs.<p>

"You captured her?" Ash asked.

"Not really. In fact, she surrendered." Something was wrong, though. Her expression was extremely painful.

"Something bad happened, right? Where's Roserade?" Dawn asked, fearing the worst.

"Well, you see, it is …" Looker hesitated.

"He's dead," Rose said bluntly. They were shocked to hear that. Even though Rose was their enemy they would never wish for anyone's pokémon to just die. "When the devices broke, they caused heavy internal injuries. It was way too much for him to handle."

"It's our fault, isn't it?" Dawn finally spoke up. "We destroyed those things that caused all this …"

"No!" Rose shouted. "You … had to do it or we would have killed you. It's not your fault. It's mine." She looked away. "I created those damn things. I tested them on him without a second thought. I was controlled by my own blind ambition and he paid the price for it."

"I'm so sorry," Ash said. "It must be horrible to lose a pokémon like that."

"You have no idea!" she retorted. "I'm sorry. He was my first pokémon. All my life I've been trying to fulfill my promise of giving him the gift of sight but now I can't do it anymore. Actually I probably could have done it if I hadn't wasted my time with those other things. I'm sorry, Roserade. I was a bad trainer." She took a few deep breaths. "I just wanted to tell you that you shouldn't blame yourself for his death. And I wanted to ask you for something. Something important. Please, you have to stop Charon. I don't want other pokémon to get killed by my creation. But he'll use it to …" She started to cry. "Please, stop him …"

"But how?" Ash asked. "We aren't the police. We don't know where they are. There is nothing we can do except to wait for them to show up."

"I know it sound ridiculous to ask children for something like that," she answered desperately. "But I just don't know who else to ask. I'm afraid with my devices there's nothing that can stop them now. Unless …" She remembered something. "Listen! There's a traitor amongst them. Charon and the others think it was Bones who gave information about their plans to Team Rocket but I seriously doubt it now. He's simply not the kind of person to do that. So there must be someone else. Someone high-ranked."

"Bones would have told us if he had sent information to Team Rocket as there's no reason for him to keep it a secret now," Looker confirmed her belief. "But I think you need to rest now. Officer, take her to her cell." She went over to the policeman, who called out an abra. It teleported them to the prison, where she was going to share a cell with Bones. Looker himself arranged that because he thought that she was in need of company right now.

After the door was closed, she expected him to scold her but he didn't. He just walked over to her, giving her a big hug.

"I heard from that policeman what happened. I'm sorry about your loss." That surprised her quite a bit.

"Wait! Aren't you going to say things like 'I told you so' or 'that's what you get for not listening to me'?" she asked. "I couldn't keep my promise. I deserve the pain."

"That's not what you need right now. Why hurt you even more? It's not what Roserade would have wanted. You made mistakes but there's nothing we can do about it now," he told her, not letting go of her. "There are still our trials. After that, we can think about the future."

"Alright," she just replied.

There was nothing to do now but wait and cooperate with the police to improve their situation at the court. Hopefully, their punishment wouldn't be too harsh.

* * *

><p>Looker was talking to Ash and Dawn about the event, especially him using them as bait when Lucario suddenly got out of his pokéball. He was extremely nervous about something. Dawn knew that he wasn't one to make jokes about that sort of thing so she wanted them to escape with teleport. However, before she could even call out Espeon, a large explosion blew up the ceiling, creating a thick cloud of smoke, which made them cough and clouded their vision. A barrage of beams followed, turning all of them to stone. When the smoke cleared, Phoenix, who was riding his moltres was flying just above the big hole in the ceiling with subordinates riding skarmory next to him.<p>

"Very good. Hey, it's a lucario. Those are valuable. And we even got Looker! No time to waste! Grab them and take them to the ship!" he ordered.

The skarmory grabbed the statues, flying up high again. The whole city was under attack with skarmory flying around, attacking random buildings with flash cannon. Several of them were already burning. The fact that most people were still sleeping made everything even worse. Policemen and trainers were trying to fight the pokémon but there were simply too many. Phoenix was watching the whole scene with a content smile.

"Yes! Burn the city to the ground! Turn it to ashes!" he shouted. "This will be the fate of everyone who stands in our way!"

He got in a kind of battle frenzy, using his moltres' flamethrower to start even more fires. Because of that he missed a golden orb being shot at the skarmory carrying the prisoners. When it hit the one carrying Looker, the skarmory shot down at the ground instantly but fortunately, Looker was saved by a psychic move. Other orbs came straight for the other skarmory but this time, Phoenix deflected them. Although he lost Looker, the mission was still a success. Suddenly, a massive airship appeared, having just opened a gate at the back and thus having to stop the stealth generator until it was closed again. The skarmory carrying the prisoners entered it along with Phoenix. It pained him to leave the burning city but there were still many others to burn down. Then the gate closed again and the stealth generator made the ship invisible once again. Its next destination was Spear Pillar.

Soon after, the skarmory stopped the attack, flying back to their hideouts to wait for further instructions. Ash, Dawn and their pokémon had no idea where they would wake up again.

* * *

><p><strong>It's sad but there's not always a happy end. New technology is often dangerous with usually someone finding out the hard way and paying for the carelessness of others.<strong>

**Just in case you haven't figured it out but want to know what the numbers in the first battle meant: They describe the position of the target with angles (horizontal, vertical) and distance.  
><strong>


	42. Chapter 42

**Disclaimer: I don't own Pokémon or its characters.**

* * *

><p><span>Chapter 42: Unexpected Allies<span>

Ash, Dawn, Pikachu, Piplup and Lucario were standing in the middle of a large room within the airship, surrounded by Phoenix, about a dozen grunts and two dozen metang. The first thing they had to do was to disarm the prisoners.

"Prepare your cannons! Metang, use psychic to grab their pokémon and pokéballs once they're back to normal!" Phoenix pointed at one of the iron claw pokémon. "You there! Use hidden power!"

The orbs reversed the effects of the stone cannons. However, before they could do anything, their pokémon and pokéballs were pulled away. Right after, they were turned to stone again.

"Good. Take the pokémon to our storage room. As for the rest, follow me!" he commanded.

It took quite a bit of time for them to get to the control center, which was at the other end of the airship. On the way, there were a lot of Metang and then Houndoom patrolling the corridors. When they reached the final, armored, heavy steel door, it opened automatically. The room itself was full of technical equipment, which was mostly unused due to Metagross controlling the ship. There were also large screens showing the exterior. Charon, who was standing next to Metagross, smiled when he saw his prisoners approaching.

"Finally! I want to speak to them. Turn them back to normal!" he ordered.

One of the metang used hidden power on them. Ash and Dawn looked around, noticing all the pokémon and enemies surrounding them. They also saw a short man with mauve hair, brown eyes and round, red glasses, who had been at Spear Pillar when Cyrus had disappeared. There was no doubt it was Charon himself.

"Charon! You're the one who caused all of this!" Ash shouted, getting closer to Dawn. "Release us! Wait … where's Pikachu and the others?"

"You're in no position to make demands! Your pokémon are in our storage room. But you won't see them again anyway," he told them. "We'll punish you for all the things you've done."

"Then release them! They have nothing to with this!" Dawn demanded.

"Stupid girl. I don't care about that. We'll get money for them and that's enough for me." They didn't even want to think about the kind of people Charon was going to sell them to.

"What are you going to do with those devices? They're deadly. You have to stop using them!" Ash said but Charon just laughed.

"Sure, I'll tell you everything about my plans. Every single detail! That way you can find a way to stop me while I'm just doing exactly what I told you, thinking that nothing can stop me. Who do you think I am? A stereotypical movie villain? All you need to know is that I'll be rich. It's all about money. But it's not like you will be there to see it. Your time is over. Take them to the prison!" The grunts turned them to stone once again before Ash and Dawn could react.

They were taken to a dark room and left there with two grunts staying behind to guard them. Charon was sure of his victory. The ship was invisible so nobody could stop them until it was too late. Once the mass production of the enhancing devices started, their income would increase dramatically. With the devices increasing their own pokémon's strength, Team Rocket would be vanquished quickly. But the best part was that every enhancing device they would sell had a little, hidden, extra feature. It would allow them to control the pokémon if necessary and with enough sales it would easily give them a whole army, which would be able to crush any resistance. For that, they had to build a second ring for the red power core.

Sudden howls interrupted his thoughts. The houndoom guarding the control room had purple instead of red glowing eyes. He could tell that something was very wrong. It was confirmed when they started to attack the grunts. Just when he wanted to call out his own pokémon to stop them, several explosions occurred.

"Metagross!" he growled.

* * *

><p>"Did you hear that?" one of grunts guarding Ash and Dawn asked.<p>

"Yes, sounded like an explosion but we can't leave our post," the other one replied, before the door to the room suddenly opened. "Huh? What's wrong now?"

Several metang entered the room.

"What's going on there? We heard …" he didn't get to finish the sentence as two bullet punches knocked him out. The other one got defeated by a meteor mash. Then the steel types crushed their stone cannons and turned to the prisoners, using hidden power on them. Ash and Dawn were surprised to see the metang surrounding them and the grunts unconscious on the ground.

"What the …? Be careful, Dawn. We don't know what they want." She nodded.

"We are on your side," one of the steel types told them telepathically. "We know you probably don't trust us but you don't have a choice. This is your only chance to survive so please just follow us and we will explain the situation on the way."

"What do you think?" Ash asked.

"Well, they freed us. Besides, I don't think they can do anything worse to us that those guys are planning. We don't have much choice." He agreed.

Although it pained them to do that since they knew practically nothing about those metang or their plans, they followed them nonetheless.

"A smart decision," the voice in their head told them. "First we'll go to the storage room for your pokémon." Now they were glad about their decision. Everything would be so much easier with their pokémon. "Then we'll go to another prison. You see, Charon 'inherited' us after Hunter J's fall. Metang and metagross can't be controlled by their usual devices without losing a lot of their power. But since he doesn't want to pass on using us for various things like as a super computer he had to find another way to ensure our 'loyalty'."

Dawn immediately thought of her own metagross. It told her that a lot of metang didn't want to work for those villains anymore.

"He keeps a lot of our friends in a prison on the ship. And he threatens to drop that prison if we don't do exactly as he says. We can't gain access to that prison and what's why we need you!" The metang defeated several grunts they met on the corridors. "You need a key and a code to open the gate. We gained the code from one of the guards but we can't use the key, which is made of a strange material, which makes it immune to our psychic powers. So we simply can't pick it up. Our bodies are unfit for such a task."

They entered a room with lots of statues and dozens of pokéballs inside.

"Pikachu!" Ash exclaimed, taking the statue into his arms.

"Piplup! Lucario!" Dawn cried, doing the same to her pokémon.

"Stand aside! We'll turn them back to normal." Unsurprisingly, the pokémon were pretty confused about the whole situation but at least they were with their trainers again.

They quickly found the rest of their pokéballs before following the metang once more.

"What about the other pokémon?" Ash asked. "We can't just leave them there."

"A few of us will stay behind to free them. Don't worry," one of them told him.

Ash and Dawn explained the situation to their pokémon on the way. But they also wondered why they only encountered so few grunts and other pokémon.

"Our leader Metagross has managed to place a flaw on the devices they use to control their houndoom when necessary. Charon really likes houndoom and houndour so they received special devices. Those patrolling the corridors will attack anything they encounter. We won't encounter them, though, since Metagross closed the right doors to keep them away from us. That should give us enough time to free our friends," one of the metang told them.

"Ash," Dawn suddenly spoke up after a brief moment of silence. "I … just wanted to tell you that the days we spent together were the best of my life. I had so much fun with you and the pokémon although we had only few days. I wanted you to know that you're an amazing boyfriend and that I love you, just in case."

"Just in case? Dawn, we're both going to make it!" he reassured her.

"I know but I wanted you to know anyway. And I'm sorry for causing you so much trouble. You're in so much danger because of me," she added. "Sometimes it feels like that's the only thing I'm good for."

"Believe me, even without you, trouble always finds me." He thought about the all the adventures he had. "So what if you put me in danger? Being with you is absolutely worth it! I love you and nothing will change it. There's no way I will let anyone hurt you!"

It made her think just how great he was for her. All the things he did.

_After my second loss he was the only one who noticed how devastated I really was. And, more importantly, the only one who was willing to do something about it. He interrupted his training just to cheer me up with that ice cream. And since it's Ash, that has to mean something. Yes, he cares about me and I couldn't ask for a better friend. _

"Dawn? What's wrong?" he asked her with a concerned look.

"What? Oh, nothing. No need to worry." He smiled. She was back to her old self. "You must think I'm being silly."

"On the contrary. It shows me that you care about me. I couldn't ask for a better friend." She giggled when she noticed that it was exactly what she thought just a few moments ago.

"You know, there is also something good about the danger. I doubt I would have dared all the things we did yesterday if it hadn't been for my injuries. They taught me not to waste my time arguing about petty things." He could only agree with her. 'Enjoy every day as if it's your last'. His thoughts were interrupted by Metang's voice.

"We're here," it told them.

They reached a long corridor, where several metang were already waiting for them. Unconscious grunts were lying on the ground, one of them having a small, black key in his hands.

"There it is!" the voice told them. "Put it in the keyhole next to the door." Ash did as he was told. A number pad appeared on the wall. "Now enter the code: 711625991 and turn the key left!"

After Ash did this, the door opened, revealing a large, dark room with about 50 metang, which had been turned to stone.

"Thank you. Now please stay outside and guard the entrance. Charon probably has already sent someone." The metang went inside, starting to turn their friends back to normal.

Fortunately, nobody appeared to stop them. It took them some but finally, all of them were free. The metang assembled in that room.

"We thank you for your help and will never forget it. Remove the key now. We will stay here, blast a hole in the wall and escape with magnet rise. If you have a flying type you can escape that way, too," one of them told the trainers.

"Wait, what about Metagross? You can't just leave it behind!" Dawn said.

"It did all this to give us a chance to escape. There is no way to safe it. Charon's pokémon are too strong." Ash shook his head.

"There must be something we can do. But you better escape now. Good luck." He removed the key, which closed the door again.

They heard a loud noise from inside. The metang were safe but what should Ash and Dawn do now?

* * *

><p>"Damn you, Metagross! I thought I had you under control." Charon yelled at the pokémon his latios has just knocked out. "You planned this all along, didn't you? But you'll regret it. Drop the metang!"<p>

"It has destroyed our equipment with psychic," a grunt told him. "There's not much left. Someone has to go there to do it."

"Phoenix, you go! Let them fall to their death." The commander nodded and walked off. "I need someone to check on the equipment!" The grunt next to Charon went to one of the remaining computers. "What's the status?"

"Automatic defenses: disabled. Cameras: disabled. Doors: most of them are open, the rest are closed. Manual navigation is disabled. Stealth is still up." Charon nodded. At least they didn't get spotted. "This isn't good! The guards at the prison aren't responding! They must have been knocked out."

"I see. So that's why Metagross made suggestion like that. It wanted those kids on the ship so that it can use them to free its friends. But Phoenix will stop them. How much longer till we arrive at Spear Pillar?" Charon asked.

"21 minutes and 40 seconds until … wait, the coordinates have changed. The new destination is … this can't be right!" He looked at the coordinates, paling instantly. "Sir, we will crash right into Mt Coronet! Is it trying to kill us along with itself?"

"Change the destination!" he yelled.

"I can't! Manual navigation is disabled," the grunt answered desperately.

"Damn it!" He took one of the special phones and called someone. "Psy? Prepare the gates! We'll arrive in about 20 minutes. Don't ask any questions. It looks like we can't keep it a secret anymore." Actually, he could. That would involve killing the grunts witnessing all of this but with one of them sitting next to him he decided to do that later.

"What is the meaning of this, sir?" the grunt asked.

"There is a secret hideout inside Mt Coronet which only few people know about. Now stop asking questions!" A red light on the controller appeared. "What's the matter now?"

"There's a hole in the walls of the ship. It's in the metang prison! They must have freed them! Even worse, we have been detected! The stealth generator can't operate until the hole is gone or the prison is dropped." They were in real trouble now.

"Hurry up, Phoenix! I don't even care whether you kill them or not anymore," Charon shouted.

The commander only advanced slowly, though. The houndoom attacked him all the time and since he specialized in fire types, he could only get rid of them slowly. Furthermore, most of the doors were closed so he had to open them with force. A powerful blast shook the whole ship, which only made him hurry even more. He didn't expect to find Ash and Dawn, though.

"You little brats! You just can't take a hint! I'll turn you to ashes! Camerupt! Infernape! Go!" he exclaimed, calling out his pokémon. In this corridor, speed was only a small advantage whereas moves like protect would be incredibly useful.

"Get ready, Dawn. Infernape, I choose you!" Ash also called out Infernape.

"Pilup, it's your turn! Use hydro pump!" The stream of water shot straight at the fire types.

"Useless! Camerupt, use protect! Infernape, dodge it and use mach punch!" The hydro didn't cause any damage but before Phoenix's infernape could get to Piplup, it got stopped by a mach punch from Ash's infernape. "Ridiculous! Mach punch!" The attacks collided but Ash's infernape was overpowered. "How do you like iron fist? Close combat! Camerupt, use earthquake!"

"Piplup, ice wall!" He created the wall of ice between Camerupt and the fighting infernape. It stopped the shockwave but not without shattering. The shards hit Phoenix's infernape in the back. "Hydro pump again!"

"Get back!" Infernape backed down just enough so that Piplup could hit his opponent with the water move. It used protect, though, only getting pushed back by the force of the move.

"Both of you, fire blast!" The attacks merged, creating an even bigger fire blast.

"Use whirlpool!" Piplup held it in front of himself, shielding both himself and infernape from the fire, which only vaporized a small amount of water.

"Earthquake!" A large shockwave moved towards them.

"Protect!" Ash commanded. Infernape jumped in front of Piplup, activating the move. The whirlpool crashed onto the ground, washing over all the pokémon but unlike Phoenix's pokémon, Piplup and Infernape were protected.

"This is getting annoying! Flare blitz! Flamethrower!" Ash's infernape countered flare blitz with close combat whereas Piplup stopped the flamethrower with bubblebeam.

"Hydro pump!" It was the same move as before but this time, Phoenix's infernape wasn't fast enough and got hit directly. The move smashed him right into Camerupt, who received even more damage due to its typing. When it was over, Camerupt was unconscious.

"Damn weakling! Return! Go, Magmortar! Focus blast!" The moved was used so quickly that Piplup didn't have a chance to do anything. It caused quite a lot of damage.

"Well done, Piplup. Leave it to Espeon now! Telekinesis on Infernape!" It started to levitate. "Now psyshock!" She created three purple orbs in front of her.

"Mach punch!" Ash ordered. Infernape only shot two of the orbs by punching them at first, hitting a shield and a focus blast orb before he shot the third one after the shield had dissolved. Since it had already taken a lot of damage, Infernape was knocked out by the super-effective move.

"Pathetic! Houndoom, destroy them! Use dark pulse!" Infernape took the attack for Espeon and even though it wasn't effective, he was already tired from his fight against the other infernape.

"Return for now. You were great. Buizel, I choose you! Start with water gun!" His attack was no match for the combined power of dark pulse and focus blast, though.

"Teleport!" Before they could reach him, Espeon jumped next to him, teleporting them right behind the fire types. From there it was easy to shoot them in the back.

"Now aqua jet!" The move quickly separated them, dealing some damage in the process. Just when Houndoom tried to use dark pulse on Espeon, Buizel hit it from behind but got hit by a focus blast in return. Magmortar tried to finish him but got distracted by a storm of hidden power orbs. Both of Phoenix's pokémon turned to Espeon again but Buizel went between them again. "Counter shield!" Using water gun while spinning caused him to hit both of them while protecting himself from counter attacks.

"Fire spin!" The two fire types used it at the same time as soon as the counter shield was gone, trapping Buizel inside a large vortex of fire. "We have you now! Focus blast and dark pulse again!"

"Teleport!" Espeon jumped into the vortex, teleporting them to safe spot. So Houndoom and Magmortar hit each other with Houndoom taking considerable more damage. It got smashed against a wall, falling unconscious before hitting the ground. Magmortar, on the other hand, could still continue. "Psychic!"

"Aqua tail!" It got forced to its knees by the psychic move so it could only watch Buizel hitting it with his glowing tail several times. "Water gun!"

"Psyshock!" Magmortar tried to use focus blast again but the orb was pushed back into its cannon by the water gun, where it exploded. The psyshock finished it off.

"Lousy!" He recalled his pokémon. "What is your secret? My pokémon are stronger than yours. So why did yours win?"

"It's because they work together," Ash told him. "Now surrender!"

"You've got to be kidding me! There's no way I will surrender to children like you!" He laughed at them. "Let's see whether you can handle my strongest pokémon. Go, Heatran, Moltres!" Ash and Dawn gasped.

"Legendary pokémon!" Dawn exclaimed. "This is going to be difficult. Espeon, well done but return for now! Mamoswine, I'm counting on you!"

She didn't expect him to win against such powerful pokémon but with Ash's help he would be able to deal some real damage. They had two advantages, though. Moltres wouldn't be able to use its ability to fly to the fullest as they were fighting in a corridor and a few of Heatran's stronger moves like magma storm or earth power would probably destroy the ship.

"Buizel, use water gun!" It got easily vaporized by flamethrower, though. Obviously, their power was on a completely different level.

"Earthquake!" Since Moltres couldn't even fly up high enough to evade the shockwave, it used protect just like Heatran.

"Enough of this! Use flamethrower!" Mamoswine and Buizel used ancient power and water gun to stop the flames but only Mamoswine evaded most of the damage. Buizel got hit directly before he could use protect, fainting after a short struggle.

"Thank you, Buizel. Pikachu, your turn, buddy! Use thunderbolt!" Pikachu shot a powerful thunderbolt at his opponents but Moltres got in front of Heatran, using protect.

"Earthquake again!" This time, it flew behind the steel type, who was the one to use protect now.

"Flamethrower!" Mamoswine quickly shielded Pikachu from harm with his own protect move but he still received some damage as the power of the fire moves was simply overwhelming.

It went on like this for a while. The fire types always used protect so that the attacks wouldn't hurt them before countering with moves that would get through their opponents' shields. Mamoswine and Pikachu couldn't get too close, though as flamethrower would become even stronger from a closer distance. Fortunately for Pikachu, Mamoswine took most of the damage for him.

"We have to do something!" Ash shouted. "Pikachu, use volt tackle!"

"There must be something we can do … try the ice chandelier!" Dawn's pokémon created an ice shard, smashing it with his tusks and blowing the rest to Pikachu, creating a ball of ice around him. "Now double edge!" Although the ball of ice was extremely ineffective against the fire types, it surprised them enough so that Pikachu could close the distance quickly and hit Moltres. Just when it was about to counter, Mamoswine knocked it away but was stopped by Heatran.

"Pikachu, use thunder!" He jumped on Mamoswine's back, hitting all the pokémon with a massive bolt of electricity.

"This is your chance! Earthquake!" Since he was a ground type, the thunder move didn't affect him.

"What are you doing? Protect yourself!" Phoenix yelled. However, they were briefly paralyzed by the thunder. The fire types were hit brutally by the shockwave, especially Heatran due to its double weakness. "Useless creature! Use fire blast!" Pikachu tried to shield him with protect but got pushed away by the force of the move easily, resulting in a direct hit. He got up again, though. "Still not down? Flamethrower!" Mamoswine managed to use earthquake once more before he was finished by the fire move. Phoenix's pokémon didn't expect him to have enough strength left so they were surprised by the attack. Whereas Moltres was only moderately damaged, Heatran was close to fainting. Pikachu quickly ran to Ash when he was alone against the two pokémon.

"Great job, Mamoswine. I'm proud of you." She recalled her pokémon that nearly managed to take down a legendary although she had to admit that it was mostly due to the double weakness and Pikachu distracting them. Without the electric type, he probably wouldn't have landed a single hit. "Piplup, it's your turn again!"

"Heatran, use lava plume!" It caused a fiery explosion, creating a thick cloud of black smoke.

Piplup used whirlpool as a shield to prevent the flames from hurting them but when the smoke was gone, Phoenix wasn't there anymore.

"Where did he go? We can't let him escape!" Ash shouted.

Lucario had no problem following him due to his abilities so he led the way. They found the commander inside a large room with two massive steel tubes. He pressed a button, which opened the tubes, revealing a darkrai and a cresselia inside.

"Come here!" Phoenix commanded before turning to his opponents. "Did you really think you could beat me? We are more powerful than you can imagine! This is just the beginning!"

* * *

><p><strong>You can probably tell that the ice cream date was one of my favourite scenes. Ash, of all the people, noticed how sad she was. Obviously, Ash isn't that oblivious of her feelings and cares about her.<strong>

**Only two or three more chapters to go.**


	43. Chapter 43

**Disclaimer: I don't own Pokémon or its characters.**

* * *

><p><span>Chapter 43: The Power Core<span>

"Moltres, Heatran, help them!" Phoenix exclaimed, calling out his own two legendaries. "You fell right into my trap. In this room my pokémon will crush you!"

"No, they won't! Noctowl, Scrafty, Infernape, Pikachu, help us out!" Ash didn't even care about fairness right now. This was about survival.

"You too, Espeon, Metagross, Lucario and Piplup!" It was eight versus four but Phoenix had legendaries on his side.

The battle was chaotic from the start. Lucario could easily endure Darkrai's most powerful attacks due to his typing so he tried to distract it. Scrafty did the same with Cresselia. Espeon, Pikachu, Noctowl and Piplup tried to knock out Moltres whereas Metagross and Infernape wanted to finish off Heatran.

"Heatran, Moltres! Darkrai and Cresselia are useless without my commands so you have to fight by yourself!" Phoenix told his pokémon.

"I'm counting on you, Scrafty and Infernape. We have to take down Moltres quickly so Pikachu and Noctowl will get most of my attention here." He had no doubt that they could stop the other pokémon at least until the flying type was defeated.

"I know you can do this!" Dawn said to Metagross and Lucario. "Remember, Darkrai and Cresselia are not our enemies. We have to destroy the things that are controlling them."

Heatran tried to cloak itself with lava plume again but Metagross removed the smoke with psychic. Infernape used close combat on it but got hit by a powerful fire blast. Fortunately, Espeon had used light screen so the damage wasn't enough to finish him off. Instead, Heatran got attacked by close combat and Metagross' hammer arm. It used protect to repel the attacks and kept using lava plume. That didn't stop the earthquakes from the two pokémon, though, so it got knocked out.

"Use dark void! Then focus blast!" Lucario dodged the attacks easily before using dark pulse. He preferred that move as it didn't hurt the dark type a lot but it still damaged the device inside of it. Fortunately, Darkrai didn't move at all, making its great speed useless.

"Miracle eye! Then psychic and psycho cut!" Phoenix shouted at Cresselia. Scrafty was having a lot of trouble against Cresselia. Her psychic moves caused a lot of damage as his immunity to psychic moves was removed by the miracle eye. She forced him on his knees with psychic and followed up with psycho cut. Doing this several times nearly defeated him but he managed to use sucker punch, followed by payback and night slash when she tried her combination again. "Moonlight!" Although he dealt some damage that way, she healed up again.

Lucario's problem was that every time he attacked, Darkrai would use a move on one of his allies, who usually got hit by surprise.

"Dark pulse on Espeon!" She was the first one to feel its power, getting hit by a particularly powerful dark pulse and receiving a lot of damage. "Again! Then dark void on Lucario!" This time, Lucario took the damage and blocked the dark void with protect. Phoenix saw that Scrafty was too far away for the aura pokémon to reach him in time. "Focus blast on Scrafty!" It caught him off guard just when he tried to take advantage of Cresselia using a healing move. "That's your chance! Finish it with psycho cut! In the end, Scrafty got defeated by another energy blade. Metagross was too late when it hit the psychic type with flash cannon, damaging the device inside of her.

Lucario knew that he would never be able to reach his ally in time so he used nasty plot instead, following up with a powerful dark pulse, which damaged Darkrai's device even more. At first he wanted to use it on Cresselia but decided against it when he saw Metagross approaching her. "Annoying creature! Use focus blast on Lucario!" The orb went right through Lucario's dark pulse, dealing heavy damage to him. He expected Darkrai to finish him but something distracted the commander. Infernape came to help him and together, they proceeded to rid Darkrai of the device inside of its body. At least they tried but something else caught their eye.

"Hydro pump!" Piplup's attack wasn't powerful enough to repel Moltres' flamethrower.

"Sky attack!" Ash commanded. Both Moltres and Noctowl charged up a sky attack but Moltres could still use wing attack while doing that. It smashed its opponent into the ground before looking for a target. Since Espeon got hit by a dark pulse at that moment, Moltres decided to finish her off. "Pikachu, use thunderbolt!"

"Piplup, bubblebeam! Espeon, psychic!" With a simple spin, the fire type dodged the attacks. The psychic move wasn't powerful enough to stop it so it made a brutal hit, knocking Espeon out. "You did your best, return!" Now it tried to use fire blast on Pikachu but Noctowl had recovered and attacked it from above. So Moltres pushed her away with wing attack before flying away again, powering up the next sky attack. It didn't use it, though, instead waiting for a better opportunity. Until then, Ash's and Dawn's pokémon were attacked by fire moves.

"Use thunderbolt and extrasensory!" This was the chance it has been waiting for. It dodged the moves and used fire blast while charging at them. The pokémon jumped to the side, unintentionally clearing the way to Dawn for it. Phoenix immediately noticed this, forgetting about Darkrai's and Cresselia's battles for the moment.

"Use the sky attack on the girl!" She was frozen in fear when she saw the legendary pokémon charging at her but the pokémon heard and saw everything too and they wouldn't let this happen. Moltres got hit by a hydro pump, thunderbolt, extrasensory, dark pulse and two stone edges simultaneously. It fainted almost instantly. "Damn it! Return! Alright, Dar…" He received a punch in the face. In front of him, a furious Ash was standing. In fact, he has never been this angry and his face showed it.

"How DARE you do that to her?" he growled. "I'm going to make you pay for this!" He punched the commander once more, causing him to trip and fall to the ground. "Do you think it's FUNNY to attack girls with legendary pokémon? Of all the villains I met you're the worst!"

Since Phoenix ignored Darkrai and Cresselia right now, it gave the pokémon a chance to destroy the devices without any resistance. Pikachu and Piplup got ready to attack Phoenix directly, though. Phoenix got up again, readying his fist.

"You call that a punch? I'll show you a punch!" He hit Ash brutally, knocking him to the ground. Ash had no doubt that he would have a black eye soon. "You thought a child like you could stand a chance against me? It was your last mistake." He attempted to take a knife out of one of his pockets but before he could, he received a kick between the legs. "Argh." He sank to his knees with a pained expression.

"Leave him alone!" Dawn yelled at him. "You won't hurt him anymore!" He quickly regained his senses, grabbing her leg with one of his hands and trying to get his knife with the other. Once more he was interrupted, this time by Ash's knee to the face. Instead of continuing his attack, Ash dragged Dawn away.

"Leave this to me!" he told her. "Don't get near him or you might get hurt."

"I can't just let you do this on your own. I can and want to help you!" she replied.

"How sweet. Two little lovebirds," Phoenix mumbled, getting up again. He wiped the blood off his face and grabbed his knife, ready to attack. "Ouch, I think you broke my nose. You'll pay for this! I …" He stopped when he felt a cold hand grabbing his arm, forcing him to let go of the knife. Somehow, it filled him with horror and dread he couldn't describe. "What the …" It was Darkrai who grabbed him. To his surprise its eyes were blue again, showing that the device has been destroyed.

"We told Darkrai what happened," Metagross told Ash and Dawn telepathically. "And I'm afraid, it isn't happy at all."

Darkrai grabbed his head with its other hand, using dark void on him. Then it said something to the trainers, which they couldn't understand and quickly fled, dragging Phoenix along.

"It said thank you," the voice in their head said.

"And what is it going to do with him?" Dawn asked, fearing the worst. "Is it going to kill him?"

"Only if he's lucky. Either way, we'll never hear from him ever again." They heard an explosion in the distance, which was probably Darkrai blasting a hole in the wall. Another one followed but they didn't have time to investigate it.

"What about Cresselia? Are you alright?" Ash asked her.

Strangely enough, despite being a legendary psychic pokémon she couldn't use telepathy. But then again, she has probably never needed it before. So Metagross had to translate for them again.

"She asks whether we have seen her eggs. She's sure that those guys have them," it told Ash and Dawn.

"I'm afraid we haven't seen any eggs on this ship," she answered.

"Then she wants to look for them. And she says thank you. We will meet her again, she's sure of that." Cresselia left room.

"Now we have to find Charon!" Ash said.

That wasn't easy, though. The ship was a real maze with long, dark corridors that led to nowhere and large rooms that didn't seem to serve any purpose. Only when they started to see unconscious houndoom on the floor they were sure that they were on the right way as Phoeniy probably used it to get to them. Finally, they found a large gate, which led to the control room, where Charon was standing with Latios and Latias next to him. There were only a few grunts left but they didn't want to enter the room, fearing a trap.

"Ah, my friends. So glad to see you. You just saved us the effort of searching the whole ship for you," he told them with an evil grin." I must admit, Metagross' treason caught me off guard. Not only are all the metang and the other pokémon we kept in our storage room gone but the stealth generator can't work with three large holes in the ship. The police will find our HQ when we enter it in about two minutes. But we won't be there when they break the gates. All the equipment will be gone as well. A new hideout is already waiting for us. You see, you can't defeat us."

"Nonsense! You will pay for your crimes!" Ash shouted.

"Big words. But can you back them up? Of course you can't!" He turned to one of the grunts. "Prepare for landing! And you will feel Latio's and Latia's power now! You're lucky my scientists are working on Lugia's devices right now or … "

Ash and Dawn noticed that the metagross in the center of the room wasn't unconscious but only very weak. It used psychic to regain control of the ship. Suddenly, the gate closed and the computer blew up in the grunt's face.

"You damn little …" Charon started but fell to the ground, when Metagross increased the speed of the ship.

"The landing gear is disabled! Prepare for a very rough landing!" the metagross told Ash and Dawn, who tried to hold on to Dawn's metagross.

There was a large cloud in front of the mountain so nobody could see that there was a hidden gate that had opened beneath it. The policemen who were watching the scene were expecting the airship to crash into the mountain but nothing happened. Inside the mountain the ship hit the ground. The shaking was so strong that Charon and the grunts got knocked out when they hit the wall whereas Metagross stood its ground. Dawn's metagross kept them close with psychic so that they wouldn't meet the same fate. Apart from the shaking there was also the unbearable noise, which only ended when the ship finally came to a halt. There was only silence now.

"Are you still there?" Charon's metagross asked. "Good. I don't know why you decided to stay here instead of escaping when you had the chance but I'm afraid it's too late for that now. First, I'll tell your metagross how to get out of this ship since you humans have such a bad memory. Just follow it. I'll explain the situation on the way."

Metagross started to move, leading the way to the exit.

"Teleportation doesn't work here unless the destination is also inside this base. So you can only escape by opening the gate. But if you really want to get rid of the Galactic Hunters once and for all, you have to destroy the red power core. The first models of the controlling devices worked without needing something like that but it also meant that we couldn't deactivate them in case of a malfunction. So we built the power core. If it is destroyed all of them will stop working instantly. This hidden base is only protected by a single member: Psy, the secret, sixth commander and most trusted advisor of Charon. He is currently working on the breeding projects and the construction of a second ring for the power core. Only I, Charon and Psy even know about this base so I didn't tell the police and Team Rocket about it when I gave them information on the others. Charon would have known I was the traitor and killed my friends." They reached the exit, leaving the airship so see a large hall. Metagross kept going as he was probably told how to reach the power core. "First you have to get through a maze full of deadly traps. I know the right way, though, and Metagross will get you through safely. Anyone who didn't know the way would surely die in there. After the maze, there will be the breeding room. Ignore the eggs for the moment and just press on. You should be able to break through the next gate. The power core is just behind. Psy is a weak fighter. But you have to be careful since there are dozens of psychic pokémon working here. Good luck."

Every time a grunt started to stir, Metagross knocked him out with flash cannon or bullet punch. When Charon started to move, it placed on its arms on his back. Charon, feeling the weight on his body, carefully raised his head.

"One wrong word and you're dead," the pokémon told him. "You know I wouldn't hesitate to kill you even though I would prefer to see you rot in a prison."

"So what are going to do now? Do you really think those … children can defeat us? Psy and his pokémon will crush them," he replied.

"Hardly. Psy has become soft and weak during the last months. Besides, I think they have a surprise for him." Charon didn't know what it meant.

"What kind of surprise?" he asked.

"I think we have talked enough for now." With a punch to the head, it knocked him out again. Now it only could wait as the gate couldn't be destroyed by a single pokémon.

* * *

><p>Psy was trying to call Charon but it didn't work for some reason. Maybe the equipment was destroyed during the crash. But what caused this crash? And why did he fly into the place in the first place? Something was wrong. Very wrong. When he saw two children on one of the screens, leaving the ship with their pokémon, he couldn't help but laugh. That was the problem? Maybe it was time for Charon to get replaced. But first he had to get rid of the intruders. He decided to simply watch them getting killed by the traps. At first he thought that they were really lucky when they took the right turns but that soon changed. Nobody could be that lucky. Instead, they must have known where to go so he had to it himself. However, he concentrated so much on Ash and Dawn that he didn't notice that someone was following them.<p>

Ash and Dawn could only follow the steel type. The corridors looked very suspicious although they couldn't detect a trap. They were simply hidden too well.

"This a bit creepy," Dawn admitted, looking at the long, empty corridors, where she expected traps to go off any second.

"You're right but this is our chance. There is only one defender here," he replied.

"I know." She gave him a quick kiss. "Please be careful."

"You can count on it," he answered, giving her a deeper kiss. "That's how it's done."

"You call that a kiss? I'll show you ..." She stopped when she saw the look Metagross was giving her. "Alright, we should just get it over with."

Only a minute later they found the entrance to the breeding room. It was a huge, bright room with dozens of eggs in glass cases, just waiting to hatch. They expected the last commander or at least a few pokémon to guard the room but there was no one there. Just when they stepped inside, an older man with long, white hair and green eyes appeared behind them with Alakazam, Jynx, Gallade, Hypno, Claydol and Xatu. He was wearing a white version of the typical Galactic Hunters commanders' uniform, showing that he was someone special.

"Fools!" he shouted. "Now you'll die! Everyone, use …"

Suddenly several shadow balls flew past his head, hitting his pokémon. All of them except for Hypno fainted right away. It was Cresselia, who had been following Ash and Dawn since she had no idea where to look for the eggs. Now she was glad that she did it, spotting the breeding room behind them.

"Where did that one come from? Hypno, use teleport!" He disappeared again with a bright flash.

Ash, Dawn and their pokémon made way for Cresselia, who started to look for her eggs now.

"Thank you," Ash said to her. "Well, that was quick. Are you alright?" he asked Dawn.

"Yes, that was quite a shock. But let's not waste any more time. Is that the right gate?" She pointed at a large gate at the other end of the room. Metagross nodded. "Alright, let's go."

To their surprise, the gate opened automatically when they reached it. Behind it, there was an even larger room, with five pillars surrounding the cause of all their problems. It was a huge, red pillar made of the same material as the controlling devices. A large, red ring, which looked like the rings of red chain that surrounded Dialga and Palkia when Cyrus took control of them, was rotating around it. A second, unfinished ring was just above the first one. It radiated energy, which even humans could feel. They had to destroy it. There was no other choice.

"This is a trap," Ash remarked. "We have to prepare."

"You're right," Dawn agreed. "We need you … Gengar! Everyone, use agility. Gengar and Lucario, use nasty plot!"

"Serperior, I choose you! Use growth. Infernape, use calm mind. Pikachu and Noctowl, use agility," Ash commanded.

This was it. They were ready for the last battle.

"Let's see whether we can do it from here. Lucario, aura sphere!" Ash nodded.

"It's worth a try. Pikachu, use thunderbolt!" The two attack were about to strike the power core but got deflected by a force shield.

Five alakazam were standing on the pillars, their arms pointing at the shield. There was no doubt that they kept it up so they had to be defeated first. Suddenly, Psy appeared in the room along with at least 60 kadabra and kirlia with red glowing eyes.

"You didn't think I would let you do that, did you? I don't know what happened to Charon and the others on the ship but you must pay! Prepare to get slaughtered!" he shouted at them.

"No way! Gengar, get them!" Zoroark quickly closed the distance due to the agility move.

"Are you trying to commit suicide? Use psybeam!" He got hit by a real storm of multicoloured beams but they didn't have any effect. "What the hell?"

"Noctowl, take care of the alkazam! Use sky attack! Serperior, use leaf storm!" While the flying type was charging up the attack, Serperior knocked out several pokémon with her attack.

"Gengar, use night daze! Metagross, help Noctowl with the alakazam. Lucario, use dark orb!" Zoroark smashed his glowing claws into the ground right between the psychic types, creating a red force field, which knocked out at least 20 of them along with Psy's hypno. Metagross rose into the air, using magnet rise before defeating the first alakazam with a single meteor mash. At the same time, Noctowl knocked out another with sky attack. The fact that they weren't moving at all made this rather easy for them. The force field grew visibly weaker. By combining dark pulse with aura sphere, Lucario created a dark orb although Ash didn't know what it was for.

"Enough of this! Tear them apart with psychic!" The fighting type dropped the orb, creating a dark sphere around them, thus making them immune to psychic moves. "Damn it! Use miracle eye! Then try it again!" The kadabra's eyes glowed purple shortly before they used psychic again. This time, Pikachu jumped in front of them, using protect.

"Thank you, Pikachu. Keep doing that while the others get rid of the shield," Ash told him.

"You too, Piplup. Zoroark, use night slash! Lucario, dark pulse!" Dawn commanded.

"Infernape, use flamethrower! Serperior, leaf storm again!" Together with Dawn's pokémon, they took out a lot of psychic types. Two more alakazam got defeated by Metagross' bullet punch and Noctowl's air slash. But now reinforcements kept appearing out of nowhere. A large squad of about 30 kadabra teleported next to Metagross, dealing heavy damaged with shadow ball. It had no other choice but to fly right into the crowd, using explosion. That way, it took out the entire squad. Noctowl got defeated by a mix of psychic and psybeam moves before she could reach the last alakazam. Zoroark tried to finish the job but got pulled back by the kadabra who had used miracle eye and got finished by psybeam. Infernape suffered a similar fate, first getting hit by his own attacks and then getting defeated by psybeams.

"This isn't good at all." Dawn looked at the psychic types surrounding them. There were at least 50 of them right now. "We are so close!"

"Yeah, we … wait a second. Do you remember the battle against Roserade and how we hit it with zap cannon despite its speed? Does your lucario know that move?" Dawn understood. This was maybe their only chance.

"Lucario, use metal sound and don't stop!" He released an incredibly loud sound, which made it impossible for Psy to give commands. The pokémon simply couldn't hear him.

Ash's pokémon, on the other hand, knew exactly what they had to do. Serperior use vine whip to knock the last alakazam off the pillar. It fainted when it hit the ground and the force shield dissolved.

"No! Use psychic to deflect their attacks! Teleport in their way! I don't care what, just do something!" Psy yelled but it was no use.

Piplup started by shooting a massive stream of water at the pillar, which Pikachu strengthened by using thunderbolt on it, creating a powerful, charged stream. When it hit, the pillar released a horrible howl, shaking the whole hall. There was a large hole in the pillar now. The first ring stopped moving but didn't fall until the second one hit it on its way down. They both hit the ground, shattering into hundreds of small shards. The pillar itself cracked before collapsing, creating even more shards. The eyes of the pokémon turned back to normal, showing that the control over them was broken.

Unsurprisingly, they were extremely confused. Confused about their presence at such a place. Confused about the shards. Confused about the unconscious pokémon lying around. And, last but not least, confused about the strange man in the white uniform, who looked so terrified. Ash and Dawn could have told them what he made them do but they decided against it when they saw his pleading look. Although they certainly didn't like him, telling them would have meant death for him and they didn't want to be responsible for it.

"Thank you, Infernape and Noctowl," Ash said, recalling them. "We couldn't have done it without you."

"You too, Metagross, Zoroark. You did a great job." Dawn turned to the defeated commander. "Do you want to surrender?"

"Fine," he said, gritting his teeth. "It's over. Lead the way."

"No, you lead us to the control center of this base and open the gate." Psy agreed. There was nothing he could do.

"You can go wherever you want," Dawn told the remaining pokémon. "I'm sure you're wondering why you are here and what happened. Maybe you should ask the police. As soon as the gate is open, they will secure this place. But you shouldn't go into the maze near the breeding center until we deactivated the traps."

Some pokémon decided to follow them since teleportation didn't work properly whereas the rest stayed to tend to the unconscious pokémon.

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><p>When the rings shattered, Latios and Latias turned back to normal. Metagross was relieved and told the eon pokémon what exactly had happened. Of course, they were furious and nearly killed Charon but got stopped by the steel type, who convinced them he would be better off in prison. There was still something it had to do, though. It left him in Latios' and Latias' care. They sure had a lot to discuss. Using magnet rise and agility, it quickly got through the maze.<p>

It met Ash, Dawn and Psy just when he was about to open the gate.

"Stop!" it told them telepathically. "You have to do something else first. The information on the red chain project. It has to be deleted."

"Are you crazy? Delete it after all the trouble we went through?" Psy yelled before he recognized it. "Wait, aren't you Charon's metagross? What are you doing here? You … you must be a traitor!"

"Exactly. And now you will delete all the information. Unless you want to feel real pain." The commander shuddered at the thought.

"Fine!" Metagross watched him carefully, making sure that he wouldn't do anything wrong. In the end all the data was gone. Of course, Metagross also had every single detail memorized so he deleted this part of his memory as well. That knowledge wasn't meant to be in human hands.

"What about Charon? Doesn't he know everything about the project?" Dawn asked.

"One man can't simply memorize all of it. Don't worry. Those things won't be build again," it reassured her.

Then they disabled the traps and opened the gates. Now they only had to wait for the police to arrive.

"We did it, Dawn," Ash exclaimed, raising his right arm. "You know what this calls for."

"Ehm, Ash?" She pointed at her own, broken, right arm.

"Oh, sorry." He raised his left arm instead and they gave each other a high five.

"So would you like to continue what we did in the maze?" she asked a bit seductively. "And after that, we'll do something about your black eye."

"With pleasure!" Nothing could stop him now.

All the pain, pressure and fear were gone. Now they could finally start to live their life together in peace.

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><p><strong>The last chapter will be an epilogue with information on what exactly happened directly after this one. It will also feature a small gym and contest battle as some people seem to like those.<strong>


	44. Final Chapter

**The final chapter is here. First I would like to thank everyone who has reviewed the story or helped me in any way. I hope some people have enjoyed it although it's far from perfect in many ways. I didn't write everything in this chapter in detail as it is just there to bring the story to an end. Now I just need a long break as the writing was really exhausting. I wanted to finish this before Dawn's real appearance in BW2.**

**Disclaimer: I don't own pokémon or its characters.**

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><p><span>Chapter 44: A new Journey<span>

The destruction of the power core was the end for the Galactic Hunters. With all their leaders dead, arrested or missing, and, more importantly, the source of their power gone, the grunts quickly left the organization. Although some captains tried to rebuild it, they were soon arrested as well. The pokémon they had been using for such a long time finally went back to their trainers or into the wild. Charon, Hawk and Psy were considered the most dangerous members, guilty of murder, theft and many other things, thus they were sentenced to life imprisonment.

Although Rose and Bones were also guilty of many things, their punishments were less harsh due to their cooperation. Bones only had to go to prison for six months as he was the youngest of the commanders and his involvements in most of the crimes couldn't be proved. Rose, on the other hand, had been essential for the development of the Galactic Hunters technology so she had to stay in prison for two years. Still, it felt like it wasn't enough for her. She was still feeling guilty but she had a lot of time to think about her mistakes now.

Some policemen were angry when they found out that all the information on the controlling technology had been deleted. They believed that it could have been used for the good of the people despite everything that had happened. Others, like Looker were glad that it was gone. Whatever the case, there was nothing they could do about it as Charon and the other scientists refused to talk, not wanting the police to take advantage of their creation or not wanting them to do any more damage with it.

With the Galactic Hunters gone, they turned their attention towards another, weakened organization. Even though they didn't manage to capture Giovanni again, they still arrested several leaders of Team Rocket and with the information the members of the Galactic Hunter gave them, they nearly completely destroyed it. Team Rocket has never been that weak before so they thought that it was just a matter of time.

Delia and Johanna were extremely relieved when they were finally able to hold their children again. That didn't stop them from being angry with them, making them promise not to travel for a while although that wasn't really necessary. Ash and Dawn decided to take a long break. They agreed to keep their involvement in the fall of the Galactic Hunters secret as it only would have drawn more attention. May's victory at the Sinnoh Grand festival came just at the right time as she invited pretty much everyone she knew to a great celebration. However, they had to think of a lie about how they got their injuries. In the end they claimed that it was a skiing accident. Their friends didn't really believe it but dropped the matter on the condition that they kissed. Actually, they didn't expect them to do since neither Kenny nor Zoey had told them anything about it but they were delighted to see it, especially May, who dragged Dawn away to hear all the details about their relationship so far.

After the celebration, Johanna had a big surprise for both of them. As she wasn't a person to enjoy luxury too much, she still had a lot of money left from her career as a coordinator and bought a house after it was safe to leave the hideout again. The surprising part was that the house was located in Pallet Town, near Ash's home. Dawn nearly suffocated her when she heard about it. Ash was calmer but she could still feel his excitement. She would still miss Twinleaf Town, though, and often visit it. Maybe she should get a new ribbon cup there?

Piplup was still unsure about whether to evolve or not, worrying about how Pikachu would react. Even though he assured him that he wouldn't think any less of the penguin pokémon, Piplup just couldn't decide. In the end, he just postponed the decision again.

Ash and Dawn decided to travel through Kanto next. He remembered how he got most of the badges back then and didn't really like it. This time he would get all of them the normal way with all of his pokémon helping him. The route was also different with the journey starting at Cinnabar Island. There he battled Blaine, who had rebuilt his gym inside the volcano. It took moderate effort to defeat Blaine's Ninetales, Rhydon and his evolved Magmortar with Gigalith, Krookodile and Buizel. The gym leader was surprised at how far Ash had come, awarding him the Volcano Badge once more. There was also a contest on the island although there weren't a lot of participants due to most people just wanting to relax. Dawn easily won it, using Pachirisu in the appeals round and Leafeon in the battles round. It was so much better to be able to use different pokémon, which wasn't allowed in Hoenn.

The next destination was Fuchsia City. During the voyage, Abra and Bagon evolved due to the hard training. After Dawn's gyarados beat up a trainer's team badly, Ash dared her to challenge Koga at the Fuchsia gym as he wanted to see her in a real gym battle again ever since she told him about the battle against Juan. She accepted under the condition that he entered a contest. To her surprise he really entered the Fuchsia contest, using Dewott in the appeals round. Dawn didn't enter as she didn't like having serious battles with him, instead preferring to support him. After he got to the battles round, things went rather smoothly. The coordinators' pokémon were no match for his unfezant so he was presented with his first official ribbon. As a result, Dawn had to keep her promise and challenged Koga to a battle.

Buneary defeated his golbat but not without taking a lot of damage from the poison so she called out Metagross against Koga's weezing. The steel type easily defeated it and Venomoth, earning Dawn the Sould Badge. Ash was happy for her but it also made him wait for Koga's pokémon to recover. The next day, he also challenged him, defeating the gym leader's golbat and venomoth with Krookodile and his muk with Torterra.

Then they borrowed two bikes and made their way to Celadon City. The more Dawn saw of Kanto the more she liked it. The first thing they did when they arrived in the city was to check out the department store despite Ash's protests. After that, she had to hurry as the next contest would start soon.

With Milotic doing the appeal, she had no trouble reaching the battles round, for which she chose Kadabra. The first few battles were pretty easy, for the final she saved something special.

"Kadabra! Spotlight!" The psychic type hid something behind her back.

"Crawdaunt! Showtime!" the other coordinator shouted confidently.

Kadabra showed the people what was behind her back: a flame orb. She made it levitate between her hands before grabbing it and starting to burn. She didn't seem to take any damage, though, instead using the flames to give herself a demonic appearance. Her magic guard ability prevented the damage but not the lowering of her physical strength, which was low anyway so she didn't really care. The important part was that she used the fire to her advantage, reducing the opponent's points.

"Very good! Now use fling!" She teleported just above the rogue pokémon before throwing the orb at its back. The short contact was enough to cause a burn.

"Crabhammer!" It didn't hit as Kadabra teleported to her original location. "Use hidden power and dark pulse!" The orbs appeared inside its pincers, where it used dark pulse to shoot them out like a machine gun.

"Light screen!" The psychic type got hit but the shield reduced the damage significantly. "Now disable!" Crawdaunt was briefly surrounded by a blue aura, showing that it was unable to use dark pulse for a while.

"Use surf!" While it was moving towards Kadabra on top of a large wave, she just sat down and closed her eyes.

"Psychic!" Just when the wave was about to crash down on her, she opened her eyes, getting enveloped by a cloak of blue flames. The wave stopped instantly, causing Crawdaunt to fall down before changing its shape. It now looked like a bigger copy of Kadabra with the same, blue flames surrounding it. It imitated the psychic type who used fire punch, hitting Crawdaunt with a mix of water and fire before collapsing on top of it.

"Night slash!" It quickly recovered, attacking Kadabra with its pincers. She got hit once before building a barrier to block the other attacks.

"Recover!" Her body glowed golden and her wounds disappeared. "Now signal beam!" She managed to push him back.

"Double team!" The next signal beam only hit a copy. "Hidden power!" All the illusions started to attack with hidden power orbs. Only one minute was left with Dawn having more points left at the moment.

"Miracle eye! Then psyshock!" This not only showed her which ones were fake but also removed Crawdaunt's immunity to psychic moves. Kadabra dodged the real orbs before shooting a purple orb at the water type, doing some damage. She shot another one but Crawdaunt caught and smashed it with its pincers. "Alright, use it with thunder punch!" This time, she charged it up with the electricity from a thunder punch, causing Crawdaunt to get shocked when it tried to do the same thing again. "Finish it with psychic!"

All the attacks and the damage from the burn have taken their toll. It wasn't strong enough to fight the psychic move, which took control of its body. It rose into the air before getting smashed into the ground. After Kadabra had done this three times, Crawdaunt fainted, which made Dawn the winner of the contest.

She quickly thanked her successful pokémon, who picked up the flame orb before getting recalled, received the ribbon and went outside to meet Ash there.

"Well done, Dawn. That was great battle. Shall we go to the gym now?" he asked.

"Thanks, Ash. And sure, you know I love watching you battle," she answered.

"Why don't you put on your cheerleading outfit?" he suggested with a grin.

"Only when you need it. So I won't unless your first battle ends in a loss or draw!" she replied, sticking out her tongue at him..

"I see." He pondered on it for a moment. "Then I should use ground and water types."

"Ash! It doesn't count if you lose on purpose!" she shouted.

"Hey, I was just kidding." As much as he wanted to see her in that outfit, he would never lose on purpose.

Unlike the last time in Celadon City, he was welcomed in the gym by Erika herself. Although she was a bit surprised about his challenge, she accepted nonetheless. He had to defeat her in a three on three battle.

"Infernape, I choose you!" Erika wasn't surprised at all.

"Tangela, please do this for me. Use wrap." Several tentacles moved towards the fire type.

"Use flame wheel!" Infernape quickly closed the distance, being protected from the tentacles as it would have caused considerable pain to grab him while he was surrounded by flames, and smashed into the grass type. "Now dig!"

"Stun spore!" Tangela surrounded itself with a cloud of spores, which would paralyze him if he resurfaced near it.

"Flare blitz!" Fire burst from the ground, not only dealing considerable damage to the grass type but also destroying the spores. "Now fire punch!" Infernape jumped out next to it, knocking it out with a powerful punch.

"Tangela is unable to battle!" the referee announced.

"Oh dear, you've become so much stronger. Thank you, Tangela. It's your turn now, Victreebel!" Ash recalled Infernape.

"Well done. Shellgon, I choose you! Start with headbutt!" He charged at the grass type.

"Counter with sleep powder!" Shellgon destroyed the powder with ember, though, while still running towards his opponent. "Sludge bomb!" The dragon type got poisoned after two hits before it smashed into Victreebel. "Vine whip!" It grabbed him and tried to lift him but he was simply too heavy for it. Instead, it got hit by an ember attack.

"Now zen headbutt!" The second hit was a bit too hard, pushing it back a little too far so it could retaliate with sludge bomb. Shellgon endured it and finished off his opponent with another zen headbutt.

"Victreebel is unable to battle!" Shellgon had taken a lot of damage, though, so Ash recalled him.

"Very good for a first gym battle. Return for now. Infernape, it's your turn again!" He tried to finish it quickly now.

"Thank you, Victreebel. Gloom, it's up to you now!" Gloom immediately released its horrible stench, causing Infernape to use dig to escape it. "Not again!"

"Flare blitz!" This attack was even stronger than the last one but unlike Tangela, Gloom dodged the following fire punch. It even managed to poison Infernape with poison powder but got knocked out by flamethrower right after.

"Gloom is unable to battle. Victory goes to the challenger!" It was even faster than Ash had expected.

"You did it Ash!" Dawn shouted.

"Poor Gloom. Have a good rest," Erika said, recalling it.

"Great job. Rest now." Before Ash talked to Erika about the badge, he went to Dawn. "Please, could you wait outside for me? I might have a little surprise for you."

"Huh? Okay." She didn't really know what to expect.

"Well, Ash. You have become way too strong for me. Take the Rainbow Badge. You earned it." There was something else he wanted to talk about, though.

"You still produce all that perfume, don't you?" he asked a bit bashfully.

"Yes, why do you ask?" She was a bit surprised, remembering the way he felt about it when they met for the first time.

"Well, I'd like to buy something for my girlfriend and I heard girls like that stuff. Your perfumes are supposed to be the best in Kanto," he explained.

"So that girl was your girlfriend? I knew you'd appreciate my creations one day. Just follow me. I think I have something she will like." He spent a few minutes trying to decide on one of them but in the end he just followed Erika's advice and chose one of her newest creations, 'Bellossom Passion'.

Dawn was already getting impatient when he finally appeared.

"There you are. What took you so long?" she asked.

"I got you something." He handed the small bellossom-shaped bottle of perfume to her, making her eyes sparkle. She quickly tested it . "Wow, it's divine! Similar to Bellossom's sweet scent. Did you choose it?"

"To be honest, no," he admitted. "Erika helped me with that. You know I'm not into that kind of stuff."

"I know but the thought counts." She gave him a kiss on the lips. "Thank you, Ash. I love it. And maybe you'll also get something special tomorrow?"

"So you didn't forget my birthday!" he exclaimed.

"Did you really think I would do that?" she asked, pretending to be hurt. "I have something for you but you'll have to wait until tomorrow."

At the pokémon center, there were already gifts from his friends and family waiting but Dawn made sure that didn't open any of them until the next day. They spent the rest of the day playing various games with their pokémon as they were already tired from the journey to Celadon City.

"Good night, Dawn," he said, kissing her forehead before going into his own bed.

"Good night, Ash … ley," she added so that he couldn't hear it. One of the girls at the gym had told her everything about Ash's first try to get that badge and she would have a lot of fun later.

When Ash woke up the next day, the first thing he saw was Dawn's face really close to his. It was already really bright so he could only guess that she let him sleep in.

"Happy birthday, Ash," she said, giving him a morning kiss. Then he noticed it: She was wearing her cheerleading costume.

"Thanks, Dawn," he replied grinning. "Is that the special surprise you were talking about?"

"I decided to do it after you were so disappointed that I didn't wear it during the gym battle. But that's not all." She took something from a bag next to his bed. "That's for you!"

It was a white and green pokémon egg.

"Wow, what kind of pokémon will hatch from it? Where did you get it?" She giggled, hearing how excited he was.

"I won't tell you where I got it. That's my secret. But I will tell you what kind of egg it is. A ralts will hatch from so you might have a powerful gallade at your side although a ralts, kirlia or gardevoir would be cute as well. Anyway, it's about time you get a psychic type. And soon we'll have to do something about your lack of ghost and steel types."

"You just know what I like and need, do you?" he asked.

"That's not difficult to guess," she teased. "Now you may open your other presents."

"Yes, but first …" He pulled her in for a deeper kiss while Pikachu and Piplup were shaking the presents, wondering what was inside.

It has already been one of the best journeys so far. But it was just the beginning. There were more things to come. More challenges. More precious moments. More sad moments. More chances. They didn't worry as they were young and knew that together they could overcome any challenge, be it the Elite Four, champions, top coordinators or taking their relationship a step further. It would come but for now, they were just glad that they had each other and their pokémon.

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><p><strong>Well, there's nothing more to say except for: Thank you for reading and have a nice day!<strong>


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